Meghan Markle’s latest social media promotion for her As Ever collection marks a shift from influencer-style PR to a more family-centered narrative.
The 44-year-old Duchess of Sussex shared with her followers that each member of her family has a unique favorite jam, including her children, Archie, who is seven, and Lilibet, soon to be five.
This approach underscores what brand analysts are calling a strategic pivot towards emphasizing Meghan’s identity as a mother within As Ever’s marketing efforts.
Experts have noticed an increase in appearances by Lilibet on Meghan’s social media, allowing royal enthusiasts to see more of her in the past year than ever before.
Since Lilibet’s fourth birthday on June 4, 2024, Meghan has posted over 13 photos and videos, including a clear view of her daughter’s face on Valentine’s Day.
In a recent post, Lilibet, dubbed as ‘Mama’s little helper,’ was seen in Meghan’s walk-in closet as the Duchess selected outfits for the Lost Screen Memorial opening in Geneva, an event dedicated to raising awareness about online harm.
In March, Lilibet appeared in a promotional clip for As Ever’s Mother’s Day collection earlier this year as fans admired the four-year-old’s fiery red hair and beautiful sundress.
PR and branding experts told the Daily Mail that there has been a ‘noticeable shift in Meghan’s approach to featuring her children on public social media’ over the last year, adding it ‘reinforces the idea that As Ever is an extension of her life as a mother and homemaker’.
Meghan Markle and her daughter Lilibet, four, in a promotional post for As Ever’s Mother’s Day Edit released in March
Like her older brother Archie, Lilibet spent the first four years of her life shielded from the spotlight while growing up thousands of miles away from the Royal Family.
Such was the Sussexes’ dedication to privacy that they never followed up her first birthday portrait – depicting the angelic toddler enjoying the sunshine during a picnic at Frogmore Cottage – with any more official snaps that showed her face.
When she turned four, Meghan gave fans the first proper glimpse of Lilibet in a black-and-white photograph that clearly showed Lili’s eyes and the top half of her face.
Meghan also posted the now-famous video of her and Prince Harry dancing in a hotel room to induce Lilibet’s birth, with the Duchess twerking to Starrkeisha’s viral Baby Mama song.
Days later, she documented the family’s two-day Disneyland holiday on Instagram, including sharing the moment Lilibet and Archie met Elsa from Frozen, as well as a picture of the Duke enjoying a theme park ride with his daughter.
The social media blitz continued as Meghan paid tribute to her daughter on International Day of the Girl, gave millions of followers a glimpse into their Halloween celebrations, and released the Sussexes’ annual holiday card.
Harry, 41, is shown with his hands cupped protectively around Archie’s head. Father and son are staring at one another lovingly, both with smiles on their faces.
Next to them on a bridge are Meghan and Lilibet. The Duchess is bent down to rest her forehead against her daughter’s while holding both her hands.
The little princess has been featured on Meghan’s Instagram page with an increasing frequency over the past year
While Lilibet’s face was hidden in earlier photos, fans finally saw what she looked like in Meghan’s Valentine’s Day post
In dappled California sunshine, Lilibet’s face is covered by her strawberry blonde hair, which comes down to her shoulder blades.
While Lilibet’s face was hidden in earlier photos, fans finally saw what she looked like in Meghan’s Valentine’s Day post.
The Instagram snap showed Harry smiling as he held the princess in his arms while Lilibet clutched a bunch of red balloons.
It sent fans into overdrive with people commenting on her red hair ‘like her father’ and her being ‘beautiful just like her daddy’.
Meanwhile, Archie’s face has not been seen in a photo since the Sussexes’ Christmas card in 2021.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have both advocated for stronger protections for children online, including backing a social media ban for under-16s brought in in Australia.
In April last year, the couple unveiled a memorial in New York City to young people who lost their lives due to the harmful effects of social media and met families who believe social media played a part in the deaths of their youngsters.
Some five months later, Harry warned that the impact of social media on children is ‘one of the most pressing issues of our time’, as he spoke at a gala in New York.
At the same event, Meghan said she and her husband often discussed how they would protect their own children, seven-year-old Archie and Lilibet, four, as they grow older.
Commenting on the increasing frequency with which Lilibet appears on Meghan’s Instagram, branding expert Megan Dooley told the Daily Mail that there has been a ‘noticeable shift’ in the Duchess’s social media policy that may be linked to her brand.
The head of London-based TAL Agency said: ‘We certainly have seen a noticeable shift in Meghan’s approach to featuring her children on public social media, especially when we compare it to hers and Harry’s earlier dedication to privacy.
‘But a closer look suggests that these appearances are very selective and intentional rather than casual and unplanned.’
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‘Mama’s little helper’ was also recently spotted sitting on the floor of Meghan’s walk-in wardrobe as the Duchess chose her outfits for the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial in Geneva in solidarity with those affected by online harm
When Meghan first unveiled her rebranded lifestyle company last February, she chose an image that showed her and Lilibet walking hand in hand, basking in the California sunshine
She continued to promote her lifestyle brand with imagery that supports the positioning of As Ever as ‘warm and aspirational, with its roots in home, motherhood and authenticity’, an expert told the Daily Mail
Instead of interpreting it as a ‘reversal on their privacy-oriented stance’, Megan suggested it was a ‘strategic recalibration of what they post’.
She added: ‘Meghan is allowing more of a glimpse behind the curtain into their family life – carefully curated, of course – to support the positioning of the As Ever lifestyle brand as warm and aspirational, with its roots in home, motherhood and authenticity.’
When Meghan first unveiled her rebranded lifestyle company – changed to As Ever from American Riviera Orchard – last February, she chose an image that showed her and Lilibet walking hand in hand, basking in the California sunshine.
She continued to promote her lifestyle brand with imagery that supports the positioning of As Ever as ‘warm and aspirational, with its roots in home, motherhood and authenticity’, Megan added.
‘From a brand standpoint, motherhood is one of the Duchess’s strongest credibility anchors within lifestyle,’ she added.
This is because As Ever’s target consumers ‘engage more with real family moments’ than product features, according to content marketing expert, Aidan van Vuuren.
‘As Ever operates in domestic lifestyle territory – jam, honey, homeware. Those products only make sense if Meghan is credible as someone who genuinely lives that life,’ he said.
‘Featuring Lilibet [and Archie] is not sentiment padding; it tells the audience this is a family story, not a celebrity vehicle. That narrative coherence is what makes the brand feel real.’
Megan agreed that audiences connect more strongly with online personalities – and brand founders – who feel emotionally accessible.
‘By subtly incorporating more family imagery, Meghan’s image will be more humanised, and the distance between celebrity and customer softened,’ she added.
The risk the Duchess runs is keeping her family-related social media content feeling ‘effortless, not engineered’.
‘The risk, as with any founder-led lifestyle brand, is that audiences are increasingly sharp at spotting family content that serves the brand first,’ Aidan added.
‘Meghan’s challenge is keeping it feeling effortless rather than engineered.’
