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Since their friendship began in 2014, the Duchess of Sussex and Serena Williams have been seen as a close pair. However, recent events have prompted some royal enthusiasts to question the strength of their bond, following Serena’s unconventional Instagram promotion for Meghan’s brand.
Over the weekend, Serena, now 44, was among the select few to receive a promotional package from Meghan’s Mother’s Day collection. The package featured items such as candles themed around her children and a box of chocolates priced at £42.
In a surprising twist, instead of the polished promotional images typical of celebrity endorsements, Serena opted for a laid-back and somewhat puzzling post. The photo showed the chocolates jumbled and partly crushed in their packaging, which she described as ‘botched,’ while also confessing that she’s not fond of chocolate.
This approach was a stark contrast to the usual highly curated images shared by celebrities when supporting their friends’ ventures. When Meghan’s first batch of promotional parcels was sent out, figures like Kris Jenner and Chrissy Teigen showcased the products with elaborate and stylish displays.
Serena’s casual post garnered criticism from fans who deemed it ‘poorly executed.’ One comment speculated, “I’m not sure if Serena just tossed the box around before filming, but the end result felt like a very poorly done promotion.”
In the clip, Serena said as she showcased the crushed treats: ‘Anyway, the chocolate was beautiful. It was delicious. I don’t like chocolate, but I have been killing them. So good.’
Commenting on Meghan’s calligraphy, she said: ‘Her penmanship has always been amazing from the 100 years I seem to have known her.’
And when looking at the No.506 candle, which features scents of Ginger, Cashmere and Neroli, Serena said she ‘can’t pronounce’ the last ingredient – and it was much the same for the second candle, which included Santal – ‘another word I can’t pronounce’.
The Duchess of Sussex’s friendship with Serena Williams has been questioned after the tennis star’s latest Instagram post (pictured together in California in 2024)
She concluded the post by saying, presumably directed at Meghan: ‘I love candles, thank you, I love you.’Â
‘It actually makes you wonder- why would you make your friend’s product look bad while trying to promote it?’Â
A second wrote: ‘Serena has been Markled’. A third joked: ‘I don’t like chocolate… It was delicious… Uhhhhhh.’
A fourth wrote: ‘What a beautiful box…and inside a complete mess.’
Another disagreed, saying: ‘She did say she liked Meghan’s penmanship, and that she doesn’t like chocolate, but she had devoured those ones. I don’t think it was intentional.’
Meghan met Serena briefly in 2010, and again in 2014, explaining on her now defunct blog The Tig that the pair ‘hit it off immediately’.
The Duchess invited the sportswoman to her wedding to Prince Harry and her star-studded baby shower when pregnant with Archie in New York City in February 2019.
Serena previously advised Meghan to ‘stop being so nice’ and also praised her ‘class and poise’ in the famous Oprah interview.
The As Ever chocolates were smashed and displaced when Serena showed them to her 18 million followers
When showing the note from Meghan, Serena said her ‘penmanship has always been amazing from the 100 years I seem to have known her’
Before showing Meghan’s As Ever sweet treats, the athlete told her followers that she ‘doesn’t like chocolate’
According to Mark Hodgkinson in Serena: A Graphic Biography of the Greatest Tennis Champion, the women’s friendship quickly evolved through frequent phone calls and texts.
After becoming Prince Harry’s girlfriend and then a Duchess, Meghan leaned on Serena for mentoring on how to handle the paparazzi and the international media.
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Serena advised her to ‘stop being so nice’, according to the author.
And when Meghan learned she was pregnant shortly after Serena’s little girl was born, she offered her parenting advice.
In 2021, Williams revealed: ‘We have known each other for a long time, but we really are relying on each other a lot recently.’
She added that watching Meghan marry Prince Harry in May 2018 was particularly special.
Serena said: ‘It was really exciting to see so much African-American culture in the wedding and I was really happy that Meghan wanted to incorporate that into it. It was just a whole cultural shift and change.
‘It was seeing how far African-Americans have come. I thought it was an incredibly inspiring and beautiful and really motivating thing. I was so proud of her and so happy for her.’
Meanwhile, in 2021, Serena praised Meghan, saying she is the ‘epitome of class and strength’ following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
She spoke to Behnaz Ghahramani, the Stuart Weitzman Chief Marketing Officer, for their debut episode of the Shine Series, where she discussed her long-term friendship with the Duchess.
She described Meghan as ‘the strongest person she knows’.
Pictured: The Duchess of Sussex and Serena Williams participating in the DirecTV Beach Bowl in New York, 2014
Fans took to social media to share their thoughts on Serena’s Instagram post – and many were surprisedÂ
Serena’s ‘poorly done’ post was very different to the aesthetic image Kris Jenner shared of Meghan’s jam back in April 2024Â
Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend joined Meghan’s select circle of ‘jamfluencers’ back in 2024Â
It comes after the Duchess appears to be taking a different stance at promoting her latest collection – and sending it to a select few, unlike when she released her first As Ever jam collection, and sent it to numerous A-listers.
While Meghan’s A-list friends, including Kris Jenner, Chrissy Teigen and Zoe Saldana, received the Duchess’s PR parcels the first time around, it seems a select few with smaller followings are receiving the ‘Mother’s Day Edit’.
Among those who got the latest parcel is Meghan’s best friend, Kelly McKee Zajfen, who hailed the Duchess as the ‘best mama’ to her 43,000 followers.
Meghan’s close friend and Pilates instructor, Heather Dorak, who has 12,000 followers, and Today show editor, Adrianna Barrionuevo Brach, who has almost 7,000 followers, also received a parcel.Â
A select number of medium-level American influencers, including Carly (@mycityapartment), who has more than 460,000 followers, and Kristina Zias, with nearly 350,000 followers on Instagram, were also on the list.Â
The marketing materials for the two candles mention Archie and Lilibet’s royal titles, as Meghan unveiled Signature Candle No. 506, named after her son’s birthdate of May 6, and Signature Candle No. 604, in homage to Princess Lilibet’s June 4 birthday.
Carly shared a photo of the £115 box from As Ever, including gourmet chocolates, on her Instagram Stories and tagged Meghan’s lifestyle brand.
The box included a handwritten letter from Meghan, who said: ‘I developed the scents over the last year so that every note melded together to take me right back to a special memory with them.’
‘I can light the candle, close my eyes and I’m right there,’ Meghan’s message read. ‘The memorable moments of motherhood.’
The box also included chocolates from Los Angeles brand Compartes, as Meghan wrote ‘Enjoy every bite’.
‘Thank you for welcoming As Ever into your home, and for allowing us to not just be a part of your moments, but to be part of your memories,’ the letter read.
The scented candle for Prince Archie features ‘ginger, neroli, and cashmere’ in what appears to be a nod to her six-year-old son’s red hair, and promises to bring a ‘warm, comforting scent’ for a ‘soft familiar ease into the room’.
Meanwhile, the candle inspired by her daughter Lilibet, four, is made with ‘amber, water lily and santal’, encompassing a ‘light, floral scent’ which will bring ‘a sense of brightness and openness to the home’.
The products are part of As Ever’s tilt towards more ‘expanded fragrance and apothecary offerings’, 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,’ she said.
‘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.’