Meghan Markle has sparked a fresh round of royal speculation after her lifestyle brand used a seemingly innocent swan emoji just days before the release of Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer’s explosive new memoir.
The Duchess of Sussex’s As Ever account recently promoted a collection of pantry products with the caption, “All your pantry favorites, bundled together,” followed by a swan emoji.
The post then encouraged shoppers to stock up on the brand’s spreads, teas, honey and other products. The accompanying image showed shelves of As Ever goods, with no obvious swan theme.
That tiny detail was enough to set off royal watchers online.
Some critics immediately questioned whether the emoji was a deliberate reference to Spencer’s new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is scheduled for publication in the United States on September 22. Penguin Random House describes the 384-page book as Spencer’s deeply personal account of his sister’s life and the traumatic period surrounding her 1997 death.
The original As Ever Instagram post can be viewed here: As Ever’s Instagram post
There is currently no public confirmation from Meghan, Prince Harry or As Ever that the swan emoji had anything to do with Spencer’s memoir.
That distinction is important. While several royal-focused accounts have treated the emoji as a coded show of support, the connection remains speculation rather than an established fact.
The theory has nevertheless gained traction because Spencer’s book contains several highly provocative claims about King Charles III and the royal family.
In one passage reported ahead of publication, Spencer alleges that Charles — then the Prince of Wales — told him after Diana’s death, “we’ll forget her soon enough.” Spencer has also claimed Charles sounded “giddily elated” during a phone conversation in the immediate aftermath of the fatal Paris crash.
Buckingham Palace has pushed back strongly against Spencer’s version of events. In a rare response to the memoir, the palace said the King was mindful that intense grief can affect a person’s judgment and memories over time.
Spencer has stood by his account.
The new memoir also revisits one of the most controversial moments after Diana’s death — the decision to have Princes William and Harry walk behind their mother’s coffin during her September 6, 1997 funeral procession.
Harry was 12 at the time, while William was 15.
Spencer has written sympathetically about his nephews and has been particularly critical of the emotional burden placed on Harry following Diana’s death.
However, one detail complicates suggestions that Meghan and Harry were somehow secretly coordinating with Spencer over the book.
Spencer told PEOPLE that he kept the memoir quiet from Diana’s sons for much of the writing process. He said William, Harry and Diana’s sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes were all informed about the project at the same time.
Spencer said Harry was “completely fine” with the book after being reassured that it would not contain embarrassing material about him.
That makes claims that Meghan’s emoji proves some organized alliance with Spencer difficult to substantiate.
Still, the timing has made the swan hard for royal watchers to ignore.
The As Ever post appeared as publicity surrounding Swan Song intensified and as Spencer’s allegations against the King generated widespread coverage in Britain and the United States.
For Meghan, even a single emoji can become part of the larger royal narrative — especially when it appears to overlap with a book reopening some of the monarchy’s most painful history.
Whether the swan was a deliberate signal or simply an unexplained branding choice remains known only to Meghan and her team.
For now, there is evidence of the emoji.
There is evidence of Spencer’s explosive allegations.
But there is no evidence that Meghan used it because she “hates” King Charles or intended it as an attack on the monarch.
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