The Duchess of Sussex has shared a heartwarming video of herself gardening with daughter Lilibet, 4, in Montecito.
In the Instagram clip, Meghan, 43, wears a white shirt and black shorts as she gently strokes Lilibet’s hair while they forage for fruit on a small bridge. The sweet moment was filmed from across a stream.
Lilibet sported a light pink outfit and a £35 Jellycat rainbow bag — a brand popular with the Wales children. Princess Charlotte once posed with a Jellycat toy in a 2015 portrait.
Back in May, Prince William described Jellycat plushies as his children’s “currency” during a garden party conversation with Mateo Robayna, 9. The boy gifted William and Princess Catherine two Jellycat toys: a lemon tart for Kate and a pickled onion for William — thoughtful tributes inspired by his late sister Liz Hatton’s favorite things.
In the sweet clip, Meghan stroked her daughter’s hair as they foraged for fresh fruit while stood a bridge (pictured)
The gifts will spark delight among the pair’s three children, Princes George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, who are all avid Jellycat lovers, according to their father.
Joyfully accepting the toys, which were specially selected by Matteo based on Liz’s love of lemon drizzle cake and all things pickled, William said he wasn’t the only one who’d be delighted by the unique gifts.
‘My children will love these, They are children’s currency,’ he said.
Mateo, the younger brother of the late Liz Hatton – who’s photography pursuit during her final months inspired Catherine to take up the craft – said Jellycats were his sister’s favourite and she would give them to people who ‘made her happy’.
His mother, Vicky said that both the Prince and Princess had asked Mateo separately if he was sure he wanted to give them the toys, to which he eagerly insisted they take them.
Kate, who wore a stunning lemon coloured ensemble, pointed out that her toy perfectly matched her dress. ‘It matches my dress, how did you know?.’
And while a lemon tart and pickled onion may seem odd choices, they do in fact have very special meaning for both Liz, who tragically died in November at the age of just 17, as well as the royals.
When the teenager – who inspired the nation with both her courageous battle against a rare form of terminal cancer and determination to complete a ‘bucket list’ of photographic assignments – was invited by William to Windsor Castle in October to capture an investiture, he and Catherine also decided to invite the family to stay for tea.
Princess Charlotte posed with a Fuddlewuddle dog from Jellycat in a photograph released in 2015
Lilibet donned a £35 ‘Amuseables Rainbow Bag’ (pictured) from Jellycat while gardening with her mother
The Prince and Princess of Wales received Jellycat soft toys and met the family of Liz Hatton, mother Vicky Robayna, father Aaron and brother Mateo (pictured shaking Kate’s hand), at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in May
Elsewhere in the clip, the 43-year-old shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the new As Ever products
They asked their team to find out what Liz’s favourite foods were. Sadly at the time her cancer was at such an advanced state that her sense of taste was affected and she was having trouble eating very much at all.
When Liz’s parents told them she adored lemon drizzle cake, William and Catherine got their kitchen to rustle up a special cake just for her.
Liz later declared it the best she had ever eaten – and even towards the end of her life would still talk about how amazing it was.
Mateo felt that the lemon tart toy would be a perfect choice for the princess, who was photographed hugging Liz – a particularly emotional gesture given her own cancer fight.
As for the pickled onion? ‘Because Liz loved all things pickled,’ her mother Vicky told MailOnline, adding that she thought the prince would have enjoyed the joke.
Elsewhere in Meghan’s Instagram post, she also shared glimpses of upcoming products from her brand As Ever, including fruit spreads and dried flower sprinkles.
‘A little behind the scenes of @asever,’ Meghan wrote in the caption, adding, ‘Hope you enjoy your treats when they arrive this week!’
The post comes after Meghan last week released a hotly-anticipated restock of items from her lifestyle brand – two months after the first batch of products sold out within an hour.
The post included a note written in Meghan’s calligraphy, which read, ‘Note to self: Let’s do something extraordinary today!’
Meghan (seen in her Netflix show – With Love, Meghan) told her Instagram followers that their As Ever products should be with them later this week
The Duchess of Sussex teased the launch with an Instagram post on her As Ever account.
Meghan promised some ‘delicious surprises’ after describing the April launch of her As Ever products, including jam and herbal tea, as ‘absolutely extraordinary’.
In an Instagram post on June 16, the California-based Duchess wrote: ‘Oh yes, honey… sweet things await. Mark your calendars for June 20 at 8am PT – we’re bringing back your favorites, plus some delicious surprises you won’t want to miss!’
In a newsletter issued on June 16, the former Suits actress also wrote: ‘First off, a sincere thank you for making the debut of As Ever absolutely extraordinary.
‘We had a feeling there would be excitement, but to see everything sell out in less than an hour was an amazing surprise. We are pleased to share that on June 20th, we’re going live with the products you love – plus, some new delicious surprises.’
Earlier this month, Meghan said she had decided to ‘just pause’ restocking her brand, saying she wanted to wait until it is ‘completely stable and we have everything we need’.
She also spoke of the difficulties of building her firm and ‘how many tears’ she has shed behind the scenes on a bonus episode of her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast featuring Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles.
Meghan had suggested the ‘scarcity mentality at the beginning might be a hook for people’, comparing it to ‘a sneaker drop’.
But she feared it might be ‘annoying’ for customers, adding: ‘I don’t want you to eat that jam once every six months. I want that to be on your shelf all the time.’