Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, has come under fire before its official launch, as accusations surfaced claiming that the Duchess of Sussex copied the historic coat of arms of Porreres, a town in Mallorca, Spain.
The controversy centers around a logo that depicts a palm tree flanked by two hummingbirds, which detractors argue mirrors the emblem of the Mallorcan town too closely.
Xisca Mora, the mayor of Porreres, agreed with the criticism and publicly stated that the As Ever logo bore “an exact copy” of the town’s coat of arms.
Despite the similarities, Mora clarified that the town has no intentions of pursuing legal action, instead referring to the situation as an “unfortunate coincidence” and requesting that the Duchess’s brand show respect for its cultural heritage.
Meghan Markle is being accused of plagiarism after revealing the logo of her lifestyle brand, As Ever, which bore a striking similarity to a Spaniard town’s coat of arms
“The similarities are undeniable,” Mora said in an interview, noting that the only aspects of it that differ from the coat of arms, in use since 1370, are its colors and the birds.
“They are the same, except the birds are a little different, and they used different colors, but they are nearly identical,” Mora stated.
“We want them to change the logo,” she remarked. “Our coat of arms is very special to our culture and has been linked to our town since it was founded hundreds of years ago.”
For the Sussexes, however, the logo is packed with symbolic meaning. The palm tree represents the couple’s home in California, and the hummingbirds hold a special place in Prince Harry’s heart, as mentioned in his memoir released in 2023, Spare.
Mora, on the other hand, expressed concern over the possibility of the coat of arms being “used to sell products like jam around the world” and reaffirmed her wish for the As Ever logo to be redesigned.
The mayor of Porreres hopes to collaborate with Meghan in the future and wishes for her brand to at least include the town’s famous apricot jam in its lineup
Far from taking the similarities as an insult, the Porreres mayor explained to Bored Panda that she sees the controversy as an opportunity to collaborate with the royals.
“We want to invite both Harry and Meghan to Porreres,” she said. “That way they can experience the beauty of the town, and see how the coat of arms is all around the place.”
Mora also took the chance to once again dismiss any rumors of the town considering legal action, explaining that they want to “live in peace” and reach an agreement that could lead to a fruitful, long-lasting relationship between all parties involved.
The mayor also revealed that they’ve been actively trying to contact Markle’s team in order to, ideally, negotiate the complete change of the logo or, if that’s not possible, have the Duchess include the town’s famous apricot jam in her lineup of products.
The ordeal, however, revealed something somber about the identity of a small town such as Porreres to the mayor. “We’re vulnerable,” she said. “Our cultural heritage that is. We see this now.”
Experts slammed the Duchess for the PR misstep, believing it could’ve easily been avoided with minimal research
For experts such as branding specialist Doug Eldridge, the controversy represents a larger pattern of missteps that Markle has faced since becoming a duchess.
“At this point, it is becoming a comedy of errors and, thus far, they are entirely self-inflicted,” Eldridge said.
Despite her vast resources and connections, the PR expert expressed confusion over Meghan’s struggle to navigate the intricacies of branding and public image. “[She] still maintains a stockpile of strengths, yet none of those have been deployed to her advantage,” he added.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams, however, was not willing to give the Duchess the benefit of the doubt and simply referred to the situation as “hilarious.”
“It was surely the responsibility of Meghan and her team to make sure this sort of mess did not happen,” he said.
“Duchess of Plagiarism.” Netizens took to social media to condemn the similarities between Meghan’s brand and the coat of arms
