The Duchess of Sussex has been accused of copying a Majorcan town’s coat of arms after announcing she was renaming her lifestyle brand, formerly known as American Riviera Orchard

Meghan Markle has been told to remove the logo for her new lifestyle brand with the mayoress of a small Mallorcan town claiming it is the “exact copy” of their coat of arms.

On Tuesday, The Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram to rename her lifestyle brand “As Ever” while posting a rare image of her young daughter Lilibet.

The logo, with palm tree and two birds, is strikingly similar to that of the coat of arms of the town of Porrerers with the town’s mayoress describing the situation as “surreal”.

Xisca Mora told EL PAÍS that, although they are not in a position to sue for plagiarism, they are calling for the logo to be removed. The mayoress said that the town’s heraldic coat of arms dates back to 1370 and its reproduction is “part of the idiosyncrasy of Porreres, of its heritage and cultural identity”.

She said: “To sue for plagiarism is complicated and costly, and a small town council like ours is not in a position to fight against the English crown.

Meghan Markle faces ‘legal action’ by Spanish village for ‘plagiarism’ ( 
Image:
As Ever)

The Porreres coat of arms ( 
Image:
WikiCommons)
“At first, we took it as a bit of a joke because we didn’t really understand where it had come from and what their objective was in copying our coat of arms,” she explained to Vanitatis.

The new website for the venture features a picture of the duchess and her three-year-old daughter photographed from a distance, walking hand-in-hand across a sunny lawn with palm trees in the background.

It is understood that the the logo incorporates a palm tree as a nod to The Duke and Duchess’ home in California, along with two hummingbirds—a favourite of Prince Harry’s.

The distinct shape enclosing the birds and tree was reportedly, intentionally designed to create a unique and personal emblem. The Mirror understands that, as part of the process, comprehensive global searches of registered trademarks were conducted.

Meghan joked about the first product released by her business last year, a limited edition jar of strawberry jam, saying: “Of course there will be fruit preserves, I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam.

“But there’s so many more products that I just love that I use in my home and now it’s time to share it with you, so I can’t wait for you to see it.”

The Duchess of Sussex has renamed her lifestyle brand “As Ever” ( 
Image:
@Meghan/Instagram)Pointing out another similarity, Ms Mora said that jam is also one of the town’s typical products. She said that Porrerers has “the best jam in the world” and stressed that “the farmers will be happy” if Meghan wants to market it.

Ms Mora said that she was happy with the free publicity as a result of Meghan’s rebrand but pointed out that the coat of arms was not the only thing similar with the rebrand.

She explained that the brand’s promotional image belongs to the Mallorcan landscape. “On the front page of the website there is a palm tree that is typical of Mallorca because it doesn’t grow anywhere else,” she pointed out.

The mayoress has admitted that she will not be able to afford a legal battle but stressed she is happy with the “free publicity” and has invited Meghan to her small town

“Tracking them down would be unfeasible. It would be a very complex process, and we cannot afford it,” she argued, basing her argument on the advice of the council’s team of lawyers.

“If she wants, we can invite her to the patron saint’s fiestas and let her be the hostess.”