Meghan’s latest move is a new low – Princess Kate and William will never forgive her

Just as there was hope of peace at last, Chris Riches says one small gesture proved the rift is deeper than anyone admits.

Meghan speaking out against online abuse (Image: Getty)

Just when you thought Meghan Markle was extending olive branches to the Royal Family, they become nail-spiked bats to bludgeon them senseless instead. With the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly hoping to soon visit the UK for the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games 2027, it was felt Meghan was trying to melt the ice between them and the rest of the Royals.

For years the Atlantic could be a major hazard to shipping for all the ice that exists between the Sussexes in California and King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Catherine in Windsor. Only days ago Meghan appeared to support William after his light-hearted Heart FM show interview when he said he preferred eating scones the same as the late Queen Elizabeth II – cream on first and then jam.

Shortly after William said it, Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand As Ever posted a video of a sliced scone with a dollop of cream added first – then topped with a spoonful of Meghan’s raspberry spread, honey and flower sprinkles.

Was she saying: “Sorry for our past rows, let’s bury the hatchet and be friends?”

Harry and Meghan’s recent faux-royal trips to Jordan and Australia were also seen as them showing the Royal Family they can – with reasonable commercial restraint – represent them abroad.

But those gestures have been replaced with a big two-finger salute.

Because Meghan has just rewarded a US online influencer – who has heavily targeted the rest of the royals – with a giant box of her As Ever goodies.

The Notorious JTB, or John Tyron, is based in New York, has over 190,000 followers on Instagram and just over 150,000 on TikTok.

Back in February, he criticised William and Catherine for their statement regarding the Epstein Files.

He wrote a caption alongside his video, which featured the message: “Future king & queen. Zero backbone. That ‘statement’ was a royal copy & paste.”

The caption read: “You wait. You watch the fallout. You drop a ‘deeply concerned’. That’s the leadership?

“The internet read it for exactly what it was: polished, vague, and built to protect the brand. People want accountability, not copy-paste crisis comms. The comments said what needed to be said.”

The Notorious JTB said William and Catherine had ‘zero backbone’ (Image: Getty)

In other videos, he’s slammed the Royal Family generally for their handling of the scandal swirling around Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein – most recently King Charles.

But bizarrely on Tuesday, John shared a new video on his social media, unveiling the Duchess’s surprise “generous gift”.

The video featured the message: “The Duchess sent me a gift. This was not on my 2026 bingo card. Wow.”

In the caption accompanying the video, he wrote: “I received a gift from @meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and I’m still a little stunned.

“If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know how much admiration I have for her. To open a package that came from her was one of those moments I’ll never forget.”

It contained a handwritten note from the Duchess and various As Ever products, including candles, honey and the latest limited edition matchsticks.

But social media users were not impressed by Meghan supporting someone who’s piled into the royals – especially since Meghan bemoaned in April being the “most trolled person in the world”.

Prince Harry also spoke out against online abuse when in Australia, hailing the country’s social media ban for children as “epic” from a “responsibility and leadership standpoint”.

Having now rewarded a Royal Family critic, one user wrote on X: “Well, well, well… For years, Meghan has claimed she doesn’t read social media and isn’t aware of the conversations happening online about her.

“Yet somehow she managed to find one of the most hateful anti-Royal Family accounts on X, send a gift and include a personal handwritten note. That’s not distance from online bullying. That’s endorsement! Shame on you Meghan.”

Another one commented: “It’s always been clear she and her husband know and support their fans’ attacks against the royals since the beginning and they never moved a finger to stop them!”

So it appears social media abuse is actually fine and dandy – in fact if you’re especially nasty you may earn yourself a hamper of jam and honey. Meghan’s certainly got herself in a sticky situation.