While the Princess of Wales and her sister-in-law Meghan Markle may not have too much in common, they do share a love of jam.
During a special visit to Wales on Wednesday, Kate, 43, revealed she enjoys making jam when she promised to send her own recipe for a plum preserve to a young royal fan.
The sweet moment occurred after Kate heard how young volunteers at a community garden near Pontypridd in south Wales were growing their own plums and turning them into jam.
‘I’ll send you my recipe so you can try it,’ she promised.
While Kate favours the stone fruit for jam-making, the Duchess of Sussex’s signature recipe calls for strawberries – as it was revealed when she first teased her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard last April.
Meghan, 43, soft-launched the luxury company, which has since been rebranded, by sending limited-edition jars of her strawberry confiture to 50 of her closest influencer friends – including Mindy Kaling, Abigail Spencer, Chrissy Teigen, Kris Jenner, and Tracee Ellis Ross.
Almost a year after Meghan first teased her lifestyle venture, she revealed her rebrand of American Riviera Orchard in an Instagram video – but confirmed ‘fruit preserves’ would still be among its many offerings.
‘I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam,’ she told her followers, while unveiling As Ever earlier this month.
At the time, she launched the company’s website with a cover photo of her holding hands with her daughter Lilibet, three, in the California sunshine.
Explaining why she decided to rename her brand, the mother-of-two said: ‘Last year, I had thought, “American Riviera”, that sounds like such a great name. It’s my neighborhood; it’s a nickname for Santa Barbara, but it limited me to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area.
And in words that some have taken as a dig at the royals and the sacrifices Meghan felt she made when she fell in love with her husband, Meghan said she had not been able to share her passion for food and home for ‘years’ after she shut her lifestyle blog The Tig.
‘As Ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening — this is what I do,’ she said.
‘And I haven’t been able to share it with you in the same way for the past few years, but now I can, so as things are starting to trickle out there, I wanted you to hear it from me first’.
Trademark applications uncovered by MailOnline suggest that, in addition to jams and jellies, As Ever will also sell textiles such as tablecloths, blankets, and bedspreads, skincare and haircare products, and candles and reed diffusers.
There will also be gardening trowels, spades and pruning shears and inside the home there will be cutlery, knives and tableware.
Back in the UK, the Prince and Princess of Wales today undertook their first joint engagement in Wales in over a year to mark the nation’s annual celebration of St David’s Day.
William and Kate arrived in Pontypridd via train – ahead of official events to mark the country’s patron saint – and all things Welsh – on Saturday, March 1.
During their tour of Meadow Street Community Garden and Woodland, the prince and princess where they were given a tour of the woodland walks and homegrown produce.
The garden, which was badly flooded in 2024 and has bounced back with the help of volunteers, is intended to be a welcoming place for the local community to enjoy nature.
It fits in with one of Kate’s passion projects, encouraging people into the outdoors, with nature activities for children.
The couple laughed as they were shown “Bug-inham Palace”, an insect conservation area, and joined a group round a fire to make balms out of plants.
The garden overlooks the River Taff and the A470, with volunteers describing it as a haven in an otherwise urban community.
Their visit to Pontypridd marks William and Kate’s first joint away-day in Wales since the princess’ cancer treatment.
The couple’s last visit together was in October 2023, with other planned engagements cancelled because of Kate’s shock cancer diagnosis; although they have both visited separately in recent months.
