Meghan Markle made a splash at Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party for a very specific reason that has now been revealed. Last week, the Duchess of Sussex and her husband, Prince Harry, grabbed headlines as they attended the star-studded event to mark the matriarch’s birthday.
The former actress wore a stunning two-tone black dress, while Prince Harry opted for a clean-cut tuxedo.
Photos, released shortly after the party by Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner, showed the Royal-Hollywood couple enjoying the festivities. They posed for photos with many high-profile stars, including Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, and Mariah Carey. Later in the evening, Prince Harry was all smiles as he encouraged Kris Jenner on the dance floor.
It was a spectacular night made for having fun, except Markle was not only there for the festivities or for a viral photo opportunity — she had a shrewd move in the back of her head.
The Business Card Play
At the biggest party of the year, Markle pulled her “B card,” as in her business card. Sources told the New York Post that Meghan Markle worked the room like a veteran businesswoman, making connections, enticing investors, and growing her empire.
“She was definitely in networking mode. She schmoozed with a lot of power players,” one insider added, describing the Duchess of Sussex, 44, as “cool.”
Markle is a Netflix star with her own series, With Love, Meghan, and has her own company, As Ever.
As Ever, formerly known as American Riviera Orchard, is her lifestyle brand that sells a variety of high-end products, including fruit spreads, herbal teas, crepe baking mix, Napa Valley Rosé, and hand-poured candles. Her attendance at the party was a strategic move to secure deals and leverage her network to promote and expand her brand.
Secret Agenda Blows Up: Kardashian Fury
According to a source who spoke to media outlets, Meghan Markle had a secret agenda: to create more business opportunities for herself. The insider claimed that, sadly for Markle, her secret scheme was blown out of the water by a photo snafu.
She made headlines for not wearing a poppy on Remembrance Day, sparking major backlash. King Charles III and Prince William were reportedly furious with her decision.
After the backlash over the Remembrance Day photo, Markle and Prince Harry’s team asked Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian to delete the event photos from social media. Jenner and Kardashian scrubbed the photos from Instagram, but sources now say the reality star and her mother are furious with the Sussexes over the incident and deletion demand.
A California-based source claimed to the Daily Mail: “Ms. Kardashian is fuming. Harry and Meghan have risked losing support from Hollywood A-listers that they need now more than ever.”
One person close to the Kardashian camp claimed: “They are baffled and angry, given the Sussexes were happy to be pictured inside the Baby2Baby Gala hours before Kris Jenner’s bash, where they posed with friends like Serena Williams.”
The source said: “Kim was like, ‘You’ve already been papped outside and you were at the Baby2Baby event the same night being photographed like Meghan Trainor and Paris Hilton, so what’s the problem?’ Kim is pissed off**.”
Scheme Blown Up or Business Boost?
Some believe that Meghan Markle’s carefully planned strategic networking scheme, intended to secure new business opportunities for her brands, has gone up in smoke after the entire operation was exposed following a damaging social media photo scandal.
Other PR experts say quite the contrary because Markle, like other high-profile celebrities, might think all publicity is good publicity. She has received a ton of attention due to the incident and is unfazed, believing it is great for business and her upcoming TV show. She is back on social media, actively promoting her holiday products and her Christmas special, set to air on December 3.
