Prince William was “trolling” his estranged sister-in-law Meghan Markle when he posed with a jar of sour jam for official photos Thursday, a source has told The Daily Beast.
Meghan “soft launched” her new business venture American Riviera Orchard by sending her celebrity pals pots of homemade strawberry jam earlier this year but no commercial products ever appeared. The business has also been hit by a wave of regulatory and trademark disputes, and Meghan has been mocked mercilessly online over the failure of the business to bring any products to market.
The Daily Beast has been told by sources that Meghan intends to launch products when Netflix screens her new cooking show, which wrapped filming earlier this year. Netflix has thus far declined to provide a transmission date.
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William, 42, received the pot of sour fig jam after he hosted a barbecue in South Africa’s Cape Town with Heidi Klum, Winnie Harlow and Billie Porter as part of this year’s Earthshot Prize Awards. He was heckled at the event by some protestors.
A former courtier, who worked with William at the palace, told The Daily Beast that the photo was likely a deliberate dig at his brother’s wife Meghan: “Nothing happens by accident when it comes to royal photos. It looks very much like he is trolling her.”
The source added that items presented to the royal family typically have to be pre-approved and are carefully screened by royal aides to check they don’t have the potential to cause controversy or offense.
Local fisherwoman Sarah Niemond told William that another pot of her jam had once been taken to Buckingham Palace.
The Daily Mail reported that she told William: “Seven years ago someone from your country bought this South African jam and they bought it and took it back to England and they gave it to your grandmother.”
Earlier at the event, William said his wife was “doing really well” adding, “She’s been amazing this whole year.”
He also said a friendship bracelet with the word “Papa” was made for him by his daughter Princess Charlotte, adding: “Well, this is… a relic, if you like, from a Taylor Swift concert that my daughter decided that she wanted to create a bracelet for. She gave it to me when I came away. So I promised that wear it and try not to lose while I was out here.”
The Earthshot prize awards £1 million to start-ups aiming to develop and scale up tech solutions to the climate crisis. This year’s winners were Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems, High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, Keep IT Cool, Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative and the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO).
Kensington Palace declined to comment but a palace source told The Daily Beast: “HRH was handed a jar of jam by a fisherwoman who he met at Kalk Bay. I wouldn’t read any more into it than that.”
