Meghan Markle has entered the Christmas hamper market for the first time, unveiling a new “Hostess Basket” through her As Ever lifestyle brand this week, shortly after Buckingham Palace revealed its 2026 hamper collection.
The Duchess of Sussex’s As Ever “Holiday Collection” basket features a leather tag embossed with gold lettering. It arrives filled with peppermint tea, lemon-and-ginger tea, three spreads, flower sprinkles and Meghan’s scented candles.
A price for the new basket has not yet been announced. However, an earlier As Ever hosting set containing many of the same products sells for $155 (£117). By comparison, Buckingham Palace’s most affordable hamper, The Sweet Treats Hamper, costs £70.
The royal hamper includes chocolate chip shortbread biscuits from the royal household, clotted cream fudge, salted caramel chocolate, chocolate bars and a tin of hot chocolate.
It is one of eight hampers in the Buckingham Palace collection. Customers can also choose an empty hamper from £45 and customise it with their preferred items.
Meghan announced plans for a festive As Ever range last week, when she opened pre-orders for a £112 chocolate advent calendar. The product is available to shoppers in the US only.
The launch came after Buckingham Palace released its own advent calendars, including a milk chocolate version containing 24 pieces. At £100 less than Meghan’s offering, the royal calendar is considerably cheaper.
The As Ever Holiday Collection also includes “Botanical Confections” chocolates created with Los Angeles-based brand Compartes as part of an “ongoing collaboration”, along with two decks of “parlour cards”.
Meghan Markle gave subscribers a first look at products from As Ever’s Christmas collection in a newsletter sent yesterday evening
The Duchess of Sussex’s As Ever Holiday Collection basket is filled with peppermint and lemon-and-ginger tea, three spreads, flower sprinkles and Meghan’s scented candles
The Duchess, 45, previewed the first part of As Ever’s Holiday Collection in a subscriber newsletter. The range, described as featuring pieces “to share, savour, gift and make part of your own traditions”, was due to go on sale later today.
The price of The Hostess Basket remains unknown. A comparable As Ever product, The Go-To Hostess Gift, includes many of the same items and is priced at $155 (£117).
That makes it more expensive than Meghan’s Compartes advent calendar, which costs $148 (£111).
The festive range also features three Botanical Confections chocolate bars in Ginger Lemon, Lavender Honey and Hibiscus Rose flavours. The products are being sold as part of an “ongoing collaboration between the two brands”.
Earlier As Ever x Compartes luxury chocolate bars were priced at $12 (£9) each. Some shoppers, however, described the unusual ingredients, including hemp hearts and bee pollen, as “insane” and “weird”.
The final item in Meghan’s Christmas collection is The Keepsake Double-Deck Parlour Card Set, marked with the As Ever logo.
The newsletter, titled “Merriment in the making”, was sent to customers yesterday evening.
In it, Meghan’s brand wrote: “The holidays have a way of reminding us how much joy can be found in the moments that make up a life. They invite us to gather a little closer, to make things with our hands, to set the table with care, and to give generously to the people we love.”
Buckingham Palace’s Sweet Treats Hamper is priced at £70
The new As Ever releases include parlour cards, Botanical Confections chocolates and a wicker basket filled with spreads and teas
‘This season’s collection was created in that same spirit, with pieces to share, savour, gift, and make part of your own traditions.
‘Mark your calendar: The Holiday Collection, Chapter One, opens on October 6th.’
It comes after the Duchess opened pre-orders for her ‘keepsake’ chocolate advent calendar for customers in the US. Delivery is expected early next month.
The calendar – ‘inspired by her Montecito home and garden’ – features a festive illustration of the £11million mansion she and Prince Harry called home for six years.
A press release declared ‘every detail was considered with care, including countdown numbers hand-painted in Meghan’s own penmanship using edible gold lustre’.
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Flavours include strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and orange marmalade, plus what is described as a ‘special chocolate finished with Meghan’s own flower sprinkles’.
Compartes’s dark chocolate ganache truffle also features in the calendar, with Meghan’s writing said to turn ‘each day’s reveal into a small, personal moment’.
Ahead of the product launch, Meghan shared an Instagram video of her and Compartes’s creative director Jonathan Grahm zooming around an unidentified estate on a golf cart.
The Duchess, who was behind the wheel, could be heard saying ‘Hang on!’ as Mr Grahm added ‘Stay tuned!’ and they enjoyed a laugh together.
The clip was set to Michael Bublé’s hit Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and captioned ‘Christmas planning in June’.
Meghan also included early prints of the box’s artwork and footage of her beloved black labrador Pula carrying an As Ever plushie toy in her mouth while the duchess lovingly stroked her head.
Join the discussion
What do you make of Meghan’s latest festive launch, featuring teas, spreads, candles and flower sprinkles?
It comes after the Duchess opened pre-orders for her ‘keepsake’ chocolate advent calendar for customers in the US. Delivery is expected early next month
Ahead of the product launch, Meghan shared an Instagram video of her and Compartes’s creative director Jonathan Grahm zooming around an unidentified estate on a golf cart
At $148 (£111), the product is almost £100 more expensive than Buckingham Palace’s version.
Weighing 95g and available on the Royal Collection Trust’s website, the £12 product ‘captures the magic of the festive season’ at the three royal residences, including Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
The palace also recently unveiled an unfilled advent calendar, with prices starting at £25.
Going on sale this month, the white box features an illustration of Buckingham Palace in the winter and is entirely customisable, meaning customers can choose what goes behind each countdown number.
Potential calendar fillers, sold separately, include £5 Buckingham Palace chocolate coins, £10 honey from Balmoral, £12 hand creams and £45 Her Life In Style bag charms – which were designed to honour the late Queen’s fashion exhibition.
The design of the royal chocolate advent calendar includes a lavishly decorated Christmas tree with a crown topper, two Union flags and the ceremonial guardsmen who ‘stand watch at these iconic locations’.
On September 28, the Royal Collection Trust announced its Christmas Shop will return to the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace from November 13.
On October 2, a post on the gift shop’s official Instagram page revealed several new launches, including ‘festive treats, thoughtful gifts, and decorations inspired by royal tradition’.
Two days later, the duchess hinted at having a ‘few surprises in store’ for As Ever’s customers after debuting the brand’s first advent calendar.
A photo showed the duchess stirring a copper saucepan in a glamorous kitchen, fitted with a stainless steel cooker, oak cabinets and delicate ceramic dishes.
‘The season of giving is almost here, and we have a few surprises in store,’ read the post’s caption, with no further details of the ‘surprises’ given to the account’s 887,000 followers.
Her post was followed by yesterday’s evening’s newsletter, giving subscribers a first look at her Christmas offerings.
Meanwhile, new additions at Buckingham Palace Shop this season include hand-finished tree decorations – including a corgi wearing a crown in a nod to the late Queen, worth £20 – as well as new hampers.
The Sweet Treats Hamper worth £70 includes ‘a tempting selection of Buckingham Palace favourites’ like chocolate chip shortbread biscuits, clotted cream fudge and hot chocolate.
Also new this year is the Royal Festive Pantry range of fine foods such as mince pies, festive preserves and gingerbread biscuits.