:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/meghan-markle-as-ever-logo-021825-5acfa3b24942458d95bb3189d4824fea.jpg){kind=logo}
Meghan Markle‘s refreshed lifestyle brand has a logo with a meaningful symbol.
On Feb. 18, the Duchess of Sussex announced that she was rebranding her lifestyle venture previously known as American Riviera Orchard to As Ever and dropped a coordinating crest on its new website.
The elegant graphic in a square shape shows a palm tree flanked by two hummingbirds and is featured prominently at the top of the As Ever page, which features a new picture of Meghan and her daughter Princess Lilibet.
The logo’s palm tree is symbolic of Santa Barbara, where Meghan and Prince Harry call home with their kids Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. Meanwhile, hummingbirds hold a special significance in the Duke of Sussex’s memoir, Spare.
At the end of the book, published in January 2023, Prince Harry reflected on a visit from a hummingbird to his Montecito home after the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, noting how the bird is interpreted as a symbol of spirits in some cultures.
Courtesy of As Ever
“Soon after our return, a hummingbird got into the house,” Harry wrote in Spare. “I had a devil of a time guiding it out, and the thought occurred that maybe we should start shutting the doors, despite those heavenly ocean breezes. Then a mate said: Could be a sign, you know? … Visitors, as it were. Aztecs thought them reincarnated warriors. Spanish explorers called them ‘resurrection birds.’ ”
Harry wrote in Spare that “naturally” when the hummingbird emerged and flew around the kitchen, soaring over “the sacred airspace we call Lili Land, where we’ve set the baby’s playpen with all her toys and stuffed animals, I thought hopefully, greedily, foolishly: Is our house a detour — or a destination?”
In a sweet scene in the docuseries Harry & Meghan, which premiered on Netflix in December 2022, Prince Archie adorably questioned his dad about why he was interested in looking for hummingbirds at their home.
“We won’t get a chance to be this close to hummingbirds ever again,” Harry said in the second episode. “Why?” Archie wondered.
“Just watch. Because they are scared of humans,” Harry said with awe. “These guys, look at them.”
The little prince wasn’t as transfixed and turned to look at his feet and talk to Meghan offscreen.
“You’ve got a dirty foot sweetheart?” she replied with laughter, adding, “Papa is a bird watcher so this is a really big moment for him.”
On Feb. 18, the Duchess of Sussex shared a new Instagram video to announce that she changed her lifestyle brand’s name and explain its symbolic moniker.
“It’s recording,” Prince Harry said offscreen, as Meghan smiled and began chatting.
“The cat’s out of the bag I’m shocked we’ve kept this a secret for so long,” said the Duchess of Sussex from a sunny outdoor garden. “In two weeks my show is coming out, which I’m so excited for. And also my business, which I think there has been a lot of curiosity about. “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.”
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
“Then Netflix came on, not just as my partner in the show, but as my partner in my business, which was huge. So I thought about it, and I’ve been waiting for a moment to share a name that I had secured in 2022, and this is the moment, and it’s called As Ever,” she continued.
Meghan described how her new venture is an extension of her former lifestyle blog, The Tig, and previewed similar themes.
“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.”
“Of course, there will be fruit preserves; I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam,” she said, referencing the first product from the company that she sent to friends last year. “But there are so many more products that I just love, that I use in my home, and now it’s time to share them with you. So I just can’t wait for you to see it. Thanks, guys!”
