Meghan Markle's luxury jewelry draws scrutiny as audience reach debate intensifies

Meghan Markle drew attention at Kevin Costner's charity event in Summerland, California, on Sunday, wearing jewelry valued at more than $300,000. She wore Princess Diana's Cartier Tank Française watch, worth about $24,020, a solid-gold Cartier Love bracelet priced at $9,513, a Jennifer Meyer mini bezel tennis bracelet around $5,000, and her engagement ring, estimated at $160,000.

Photographs from the event show her in a look that has become a flashpoint in the ongoing conversation about her audience. Critics have pointed to the wardrobe choices on her Netflix show, With Love, where high-end labels and conspicuous accessories have appeared repeatedly. On both seasons of With Love, Meghan wore a $3,000 Carolina Herrera dress, a nearly $600 CO cotton poplin pinstripe shirt, and a $1,000 sleeveless silk gown from Ulla Johnson. After the Spring 2025 premiere of the first season, she linked these items on a ShopMy storefront, only to quietly shut the shop down earlier this month and remove the link from her Instagram bio. She also linked the expensive Le Creuset cookware used on the series to the same platform, where a single pot typically retails between $200 and $340. Dishes from Earth and Element, a Los Angeles ceramics studio used in the show, range from about $40 for a bread plate to $70 for a dinner plate.

Royal commentators and public-relations experts say the juxtaposition of luxury and accessibility may complicate Meghan’s effort to appear relatable. To some observers, the weekend jewelry total — which experts say runs into six figures when including the engagement ring — signals prestige that could be at odds with a broad, everyday-audience appeal. Ryan McCormick, managing partner at Goldman McCormick PR, told the Daily Mail that she may want to connect with everyday people, but “if so, she has to be fully committed,” adding that wearing such expensive pieces communicates, “I am in the upper class,” and noting the price tag is eight times the average annual salary of many Britons. Kinsey Schofield, a royal commentator, argued the audience Meghan seems to be courting may skew younger, but also warned that the messaging is inconsistent and creates mixed signals about whom she is trying to reach. She suggested that the jewelry reads more like a Hollywood display intended to fit into a Santa Barbara social milieu than a deliberate attempt to broaden appeal.

Meanwhile, Netflix leadership publicly celebrated Meghan’s influence as a consumer-products driver connected to her shows. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief executive, praised Meghan’s ability to move goods featured in her projects and described Season 2 of her show as performing well in the Netflix chart. His comments on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast came after Meghan and Harry signed a first-look deal with Netflix that industry insiders have described as a downgrade from their prior reported agreement. Sarandos said the Meghan-driven moments — including edible flowers and jam — reflect her “remarkable influence,” a line of praise that underscores Netflix’s continued interest in monetizing a broader entertainment-and-merchandise strategy around the couple.

The debate about Meghan’s audience comes amid broader reporting on Montecito life and her public persona. Biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand have chronicled the couple’s move to California and Meghan’s routines, including green juice as a preferred source of energy. In an interview with The New York Times, Meghan described the appeal of a natural energy source but admitted she does not love the juicing process because it can be messy. Some observers argue that the tension between the image she projects and the values she has marketed — accessibility, authenticity, and a down-to-earth ethos — is at the heart of public skepticism. Others contend that Meghan’s core audience may be younger viewers who connect with a modern blend of royal visibility and lifestyle entrepreneurship, a calculation that remains unsettled as Netflix, media, and fashion interests evolve around her profile.

As the conversation continues, industry watchers note that the lines between entertainment, brand partnerships, and personal storytelling are more blurred than ever for Meghan. While supporters cite her strong audience reach and cultural resonance, critics question whether the current balance between luxury branding and relatable messaging will sustain broad, long-term engagement among diverse viewers. The evolving dynamic highlights how a public figure who spans royalty, reality-based programming, and Hollywood may navigate competing expectations from different demographics, markets, and media platforms. The question remains: how will Meghan tailor her image to either unify or divide the audiences that have followed her career across continents and platforms?