Meghan Markle's Candles Honoring Her Children Creep Some People Out
Meghan Markle is marketing a new Mother’s Day range from her As Ever online shop featuring two candles named in honor of her children-but not everyone interpreted the move as the sweet tribute she intended.
The Duchess of Sussex named one ‘Candle No. 506,’ in reference to Prince Archie’s May 6th birthday, and the other ‘Candle No. 604,’ referencing Princess Lilibet’s on June 4. They went on sale on April 22 in preparation for Mother’s Day on May 10, and she trailed them this week with a press release to Town and Country.
One regular critic of the duchess described the move as “officially merching off her children” and said it was “disgustingly narcissistic.” Doubtless, supporters of the duchess would point out that the candles do not use the children’s real names, though the online publicity material does state explicitly that they are inspired by the children.
Why It Matters
Meghan and Prince Harry have a policy of not showing their children’s faces in online photos posted to Meghan’s Instagram out of respect for their privacy, but continue to reference them, including in contexts where they are turning a profit, such as their Netflix shows.
That has created tension over whether it is contradictory or even hypocritical for Meghan to at once seemingly denounce the practice of posting children’s faces online while continuing to, arguably, trade off her children in other ways.
Meghan’s Candles for Archie and Lilibet
The X account for the Royal News Network YouTube channel wrote: “Now Meghan Markle is not only officially merching off her children… to sell new overpriced candles based and named after them. Not sure why anyone would want candles inspired by another person's children for Mother's Day.
“That seems like a very dumb idea. It's another horribly self-obsessed product from Meghan after a series of failed self-obsessed products. It's disgustingly narcissistic.”
Another X post read: “We all knew that one day Meghan would start merching her own children and today is that day.”
The marketing material says Archie’s candle has “notes of ginger, neroli, and cashmere,” while Lili’s “Amber, water lily, and santal come together in this gorgeous scent that evokes the feeling of a breathtaking summer's day.”
Nick Ede, a U.K.-based brand and culture expert, felt Meghan’s intention behind the references to her children was “sweet” but had other criticisms of the Mother’s Day marketing campaign.
“This is quite a sweet way for Meghan to celebrate her children,” he said. “It feels a little bit presumptuous because do we care? I don’t care. I don’t know what date she was born.
“It’s quite tenuous with the actual using the numbers. It doesn’t feel as clean cut as it could be because she is just referencing the birth dates.”
Ede argued that naming the candles after a number, in the manner of Channel No. 5, will only work if the candle becomes famous, but that Meghan might be presuming a level of success she will not necessarily achieve.
Meghan Markle’s $58 Chocolate Box With Just 10 Chocolates
Also in the Mother’s Day collection, Meghan is selling chocolates priced at $58 for a box of ten. Ede said: “That’s $5 per chocolate. It feels so out of touch with the world and the USA economy.”
And it was not just the price that troubled Ede, who said he felt there was a major flaw in the design. Of the ten chocolates, half are adorned with gold lettering spelling out “As ever,” but the other half are blank.
“You’ve done a chocolate collection and you’ve only got some chocolates that have got a bit of gilt on with the ‘As ever’ scribe,” he said. “Say you are offering that to your friends and they go, ‘oh, okay, so I’m the one that has nothing on it, no gold, but she’s got a huge capital A.’ It doesn’t feel like it’s been thought out.
“I was at Harrods yesterday and the chocolates are exquisite and each and every one of them, you feel really special to have actually eaten one. And here you’ve created one with your own brand name on it, but you’ve missed out five chocolates. That’s insane.”
He suggested Meghan should have simply included the As ever logo on the remaining five chocolates. The boxes are a partnership with the brand Compartes, which has its own Mother’s Day boxes retailing at $70 for 20, or $3.50 per chocolate.
What Meghan Markle Said to Promote the Candles
Meghan told Town & Country: "The goal for As ever has always been finding ways we can bring beauty and ease to your life-as a host, as a guest, as a friend, as a mom.
"In whatever way you show up, I want As ever to make it feel special. It began with a pot of jam, and a collection for your kitchen and now we are excited that the collection will soon expand into other parts of your home. It's a very special time and I'm proud of what we are creating."
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 4:10 PM.