Meghan Markle has unveiled a luxury advent calendar featuring an illustration of her Californian mansion in Montecito, through her lifestyle brand As Ever.
A notable choice, given that she and Prince Harry completed their move back to Britain at the end of August.
The limited edition product, developed alongside Los Angeles-based chocolatier Compartes, is due to become available for pre-order on the As Ever website later today.
Inside the box, the 24 handcrafted chocolates are described as “thoughtfully inspired by our Montecito garden” and designed to “sweeten each day” of the festive countdown.
Meghan Markle has unveiled a luxury advent calendar featuring an illustration of her Californian mansion in Montecito, through her lifestyle brand As Ever.
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The packaging bills the calendar as “a magical celebration of the season.”
The launch comes just over a month after the Sussexes made their dramatic return to the UK, reversing their 2020 decision to step back from royal duties and begin a new chapter in California.
On Instagram, the Duchess shared footage captioned “Christmas planning in June” showing her behind the wheel of a golf buggy with Compartes chief executive Jonathan Grahm beside her.
In the clip, Meghan can be heard saying “Hang on” as they travel along a path, while Mr Grahm tells viewers to “Stay tuned.”
Meghan can be heard saying “Hang on” as they travel along a path, while Mr Grahm tells viewers to “Stay tuned.”
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GETTY
The video also revealed colour sketches of the Montecito property and the couple’s Labrador, Pula, clutching a soft toy shaped like an As Ever strawberry jam jar.
It comes just one day after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hit out at two European paparazzi who were discovered conducting surveillance around the school attended by their children.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex condemned the photographers’ actions as a serious breach of children’s privacy, with their spokesman branding the behaviour “extraordinarily reckless.”
The incident has raised acute security concerns, not least because the school also educates children from families stationed at a nearby American military base.
The pair, later identified as working for a European press agency, were spotted by both private security personnel and school staff patrolling the perimeter of the grounds.
The two men, both young and carrying backpacks, were first noticed separately as they made their way around the school’s boundary.
Staff and private security teams observed them pausing at multiple points to peer into the grounds, watching children going about their daily activities.
They were later seen meeting up before heading back to a white van parked nearby. Police subsequently confirmed the vehicle had been hired, rather than privately owned.
Authorities were able to establish that both individuals were international photographers employed by a well-known press agency based in Europe.
A spokesman for the couple issued a strongly worded statement, saying: “The decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school is extraordinarily reckless.
“There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day.”
The spokesman continued: “It is concerning enough that certain European paparazzi appear unwilling to respect the privacy of children at school.
“But to behave in this manner in these particular circumstances, and so soon after the incident at RAF Fairford, demonstrates an extraordinary lack of judgment.
“Whatever photographs they may have been seeking, this was not only an unacceptable intrusion into the privacy of children; it was an irresponsible and ill-considered way to conduct themselves in the vicinity of a school.”