King Charles Tipped To Offer Olive Branch Following 'Strange' Meghan Markle's Netflix Split: Report

King Charles has been tipped to extend a quiet 'olive branch' to Meghan Markle after the Duchess of Sussex ended her partnership with Netflix on her lifestyle brand As Ever this week, a former royal butler has claimed.

The timing of Meghan Markle's move, coming six years after she and Prince Harry stepped back from royal duties, could prompt King Charles to signal support in a characteristically understated way, according to ex-palace aide Grant Harrold.

The news came after Meghan and Netflix confirmed that their collaboration on As Ever, the duchess's home and lifestyle venture, had drawn to a close. Netflix praised her in a warm statement, saying Meghan's 'passion for elevating everyday moments in beautiful yet simple ways inspired the creation of the As Ever brand,' and stressing it was 'always intended' that she would take the project forward independently.

Meghan's camp was just as keen to present the shift as a mark of success rather than retreat, saying As Ever had seen 'meaningful and rapid growth' and was now 'ready to stand on its own.'

Meghan and Harry's relationship with Netflix was one of the couple's flagship commercial deals after walking away from royal life, alongside book contracts and media projects. The As Ever tie-up, though markedly less explosive than their documentary series, was still a symbol of their post-royal strategy; a blend of lifestyle branding and carefully controlled storytelling.

Harrold, who worked for the then Prince Charles for several years, plainly shares some of that scepticism. Speaking on behalf of CasinoHawks, he described Meghan Markle's choice as 'a strange decision,' at least from the outside. In his view, walking away from the backing of a platform as dominant as Netflix appears counterintuitive, even if Meghan believes she no longer needs the association.

At the same time, he acknowledged that this is not uncharted territory for her. Before joining the Royal Family, Meghan ran her lifestyle blog The Tig, a project that grew a devoted following before she shut it down ahead of her engagement. That earlier success, Harrold suggested, shows she 'knows what she's doing in this area,' and may help explain why she feels confident striking out without a corporate giant behind her.

Meghan Markle's Timing Puts King Charles Back In The Frame

What most intrigued Harrold, though, was the calendar. The As Ever announcement landed in the same week as the anniversary of Meghan and Harry's final engagement as working royals, the Commonwealth Day Service in March 2020. Six years on, he believes this period is likely to be 'a very reflective time for the couple' as they look back on the rupture with the monarchy and the sometimes-fraught years that followed.

Linking those two threads together, he argued that Meghan Markle's decision and the date it was revealed 'says a lot.' Harrold stopped short of claiming it was deliberately symbolic, but the implication was clear enough. In his view, this is a moment when both sides could be reassessing how entrenched their positions really are.

That is where King Charles enters the story in a more unexpected way. Turning to the prospect of Meghan expanding As Ever's product line into the UK market, Harrold said he believed the King would have 'no issues' with her selling goods in Britain. The monarchy has historically been wary of overt commercialisation by its senior members, but Meghan and Harry are now private citizens living in California. For the Palace, drawing red lines on their business dealings has become trickier and arguably less useful.

Harrold went further, speculating that Charles might even use Meghan's products as a quiet tool of rapprochement. If As Ever were to launch in the UK, he suggested it would be natural for Meghan to send samples to royal relatives. Were a few jars or items to arrive at Buckingham Palace, he said, he 'would be surprised if the King and Queen buy any of their products, but never say never.'

How King Charles Could Use As Ever As An Olive Branch

Where Harrold became most specific was in describing how this supposed olive branch might actually look. In his telling, King Charles could choose to display Meghan Markle's As Ever products during a visit by Prince Harry, or possibly during more low-key private moments, as 'a subtle little sign of support.' No grand statement. No glossy photograph. Just an object on a table saying more than any press release could.

For all the high politics and public rows, the monarchy often moves through nuance rather than confrontation. If the former royal butler is even half right, a branded jar of something on a royal countertop might someday tell its own quiet story about a family trying, in its own awkward way, to edge closer again.