The Duchess of Sussex has launched a luxury advent calendar through her lifestyle brand As Ever, priced at £112 (approximately $148 USD), which works out to about £4.60 per chocolate. The 24-door calendar is inspired by her home in Montecito, California, and features an illustration of the property from which the Sussex family moved just weeks ago as they relocated to Britain after six years in America.
Meghan shared a sneak peek of the calendar on her Instagram, teasing that it would be available to order later that day. The festive product was also promoted on the As Ever Instagram account, where the brand announced the release.
Design and collaboration
The inside of the box carries the words 'A magical celebration of the season' and explains that the 24 handcrafted chocolates are there to 'sweeten each day' and have been 'thoughtfully inspired by our Montecito garden'. The calendar is a collaboration with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartes, whose chief executive Jonathan Grahm appears in a video Meghan shared on her Instagram stories, driving around what appears to be the garden of her Montecito home in a golf buggy.
Further clips show Meghan displaying the first sketches of the calendar's illustration, as well as the Sussex family's black Labrador named Pula walking around with a stuffed toy shaped like As Ever's raspberry spread in its mouth. The video was captioned 'Christmas planning in June' and featured Michael Bublé's festive tune 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)' playing over the clips.
Availability and recent move
Pre-orders for the limited edition advent calendar are believed to open on Thursday afternoon, with deliveries expected for fans in November. While Meghan is now residing in Britain with her husband Prince Harry and their children Archie and Lilibet, the calendar is believed to be available only for American fans, as the lifestyle brand ships solely around the US.
The Sussex family arrived back in the UK in late August and are believed to be living in the Cotswolds for an 'extended stay' in Harry's home country. Meghan has been keeping a low profile since returning, but was spotted at the Three Horseshoes pub near Burford, Oxfordshire, in pictures obtained by Page Six, mingling with fellow expat Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi.
Last week, a close friend of Meghan's, Kelly McKee Zajfen, who appeared on Meghan's Netflix show, shared a series of unseen photos from the Sussex family's first month back in the UK. In a carousel of photos posted to her Instagram, she showed Harry, Meghan and their daughter Lilibet spending time together in the UK during a holiday in the English countryside. In the caption, Kelly said she was 'having the best time' in the UK and relished in 'getting a taste of this magical place with my bestie', while thanking people for welcoming Harry and Meghan back to England.
