Meghan Markle takes a leaf out of fellow Montecito resident Gwyneth Paltrow's book to send a very specific message with £2,500 necklace

As Ever, Meghan is taking a leaf out of that other well-known and extremely successful lifestyle brand creator Gwyneth Paltrow - and there is an awful lot of Gwyneth about her relaunch Instagram picture. With her scrubbed, clean, fresh Montecito woman appearance including a crisp white shirt and blue jeans, great teeth and minimal make up, Meghan and Gwyneth are clearly opting for the same message. As Meghan posted a video yesterday announcing the launch of her new brand, As Ever, nestled in the open neck of her white shirt was a $3,200 (£2,535) 14-carat ‘Heart of Gold’ pendant necklace, decorated with red enamel and 83 round-cut diamonds, by LA-based designer The Gold Album.

Gwyneth owns one and now Meghan does too - seeming to separate themselves from the everyday multi-millionaires and claiming the higher ground by wearing a necklace with a message. Meghan's BFF Kelly McKee Zafjen - who is also pals with Gwyneth - co-designed the Heart of Gold necklace as a means of raising money for charity (15 per cent of the sales goes to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles). The matching necklaces symbolise the efforts of the two Montecito women to show themselves bestowing their favours on their friend's endeavours.

Meghan has previously been said to be 'obsessed' with her neighbour Paltrow's business - taking inspiration from her brand Goop as she worked on her old lifestyle website, The Tig. Meghan and the actress are known to be close friends, even going for dinner together at a Montecito sushi restaurant with Prince Harry and Cameron Diaz in 2023. Meghan issued a heartfelt tribute to her best friend by wearing the red 'Heart of Gold' pendant in a video announcing her brand, As Ever.

Meghan is taking a leaf out of that other well-known and extremely successful lifestyle brand creator Gwyneth Paltrow. Only today, Meghan revealed her rebrand of American Riviera Orchard in an Instagram video that appears to include a subtle dig at the Royal Family. Eagle-eyed fans could help but spot that Meghan was sporting a $3,200 (£2,535) sentimental necklace designed by her best friend. The bespoke red 'Heart of Gold' pendant was designed by The Gold Album in collaboration with her best friend and co-founder of Alliance of Moms charity, Kelly McKee Zafjen, 44.

The duchess isn't the only A-Lister to have worn the 14k solid gold heart pendant, which features 83 round-cut diamonds across the border, as Paltrow also donning the design and dubbing it 'special' on Instagram. The Children's Hospital Los Angeles receives 15 per cent of the necklace sales, a charity close to Kelly, whose late son George died aged just nine in July 2022 after being found unresponsive in their family home.

Meghan and Kelly first met through the Duchess' ex-husband, Trevor Engelson, who is friends with the former model's entertainment lawyer husband. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex formed a vital part of Kelly and her husband Julian's support network, with the pair attending a tennis tournament the day before Harry's 40th birthday in remembrance of George towards the end of last year. 'Children's Hospital Los Angeles is nothing short of extraordinary,' Kelly said, according to The Gold Album.

The Duchess of Sussex has renamed her luxury lifestyle brand 'As Ever' and launched a website with a cover photo of her holding hands with her daughter Lilibet, three, in the California sunshine. Meghan's isn't the only celebrity sporting the design, with Gwyneth Paltrow also owning the $3,200 (£2,535) necklace. Meghan and Kelly (seen at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Gala in October last year) met through the Duchess' ex-husband, Trevor Engelson.

The bespoke 'Red Heart of Gold Pendant' is made of 14K solid gold and features 83 round-cut diamonds. In what the Sussexes will hope will be a new money-spinner, products will include food such as 'fruit preserves', as Meghan grandly called them today, adding: 'I think we're all clear at this point that jam is my jam'. American Riviera Orchard emerged last year when Meghan began sending jams in limited edition jars to her most famous friends to share on social media. But ARO, as a brand, hit a wall. Its logo has also gone, replaced with a palm tree and two hummingbirds.

As Ever was launched in a close-up Instagram video in the Sussexes' Montecito garden where Meghan gave a nod to the trademark row that saw her American Riviera Orchard application refused by the US trademark office. It features a brief cameo from Harry, who tells Meghan, 'It's recording', as he hands her the phone. 'Last year, I had thought, "American Riviera", that sounds like such a great name. It's my neighborhood; it's a nickname for Santa Barbara, but it limited me to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area', she said.