Now furious Spanish mayor demands Meghan Markle axes her ‘identical’ As Ever… as she uncovers ANOTHER uncanny coincidence between brand and Mallorca

Meghan Markle has been told to remove the logo for her new lifestyle brand after the mayoress of a small town in Mallorca claimed it is an ‘exact copy’ of their town’s historic coat of arms.

On Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, 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.

The logo, featuring a palm tree and two birds, has drawn comparisons to the heraldic emblem of the town of Porreres, with the mayoress describing the situation as ‘surreal’.

Xisca Mora, the mayoress of Porreres, told EL PAÍS that although the town is not in a position to take legal action over alleged plagiarism, they are demanding that the logo be removed. 

The town’s heraldic coat of arms dates back to 1370 and is a significant part of the town’s cultural heritage.

Xisca told MailOnline: ‘We are still a bit shocked, we thought it was fake news at first, we didn’t know what was happening.

‘Then loads of newspapers and media started calling us and we realised it was serious.’

She said the similarities are ‘undeniable’, adding: ‘They are the same, except the birds are a little different and they used different colours, but they are nearly identical.’

Spot the difference: Meghan’s logo for her rebranded As Ever luxury firm (left), and the coat of arms for the sleepy Mallorca town of Porreres (right)

Xisca Mora, the mayoress of Porreres, said everyone in the town wanted the logo to be removed

The sleepy village of Porreres on the island of Mallorca

The bustling centre of the little-known Spanish village at the heart of the plagiarism row

She continued: ‘All jokes aside, we really want them to change the logo because our coat of arms is very special to our culture and has been linked to our town since it was founded hundreds of years ago.

‘Every single town in Mallorca has its own symbol or coat of arms, and it is very important to our identity, and people are upset that ours is being used to sell products like jam around the world.

‘The truth is that although this has given our once-unknown town some publicity in just a few hours, we don’t like our coat of arms being used, we want them to pull the logo.’

She explained: ‘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.’ 

She added: ‘I don’t know if she visited some agritourism sites and saw the coat of arms, because the photo on her website is taken from Mallorca.’

Initially, the town council took the news as a joke, unsure of where the logo had come from or why it resembled their emblem.

‘It was a bit surreal, really,’ Mora continued. ‘At first, we didn’t really understand where it had come from and what their objective was in copying our coat of arms.’

The logo features a palm tree, presumably a nod to the Duke and Duchess’s home in California, and two hummingbirds, which are said to be a favourite of Prince Harry.

The design’s distinct shape was allegedly created to be a personal and unique emblem for their brand. 

According to reports, thorough global searches of registered trademarks were conducted as part of the design process.

Meghan herself recently joked about her first product release, 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.’

She added: ‘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.’

Notably, Ms Mora pointed out that jam is also one of Porreres’ local specialities. ‘We have the best jam in the world,’ she said, adding that ‘the farmers will be happy’ if Meghan decides to market the town’s jam.

However she has welcomed the ‘free publicity’ generated by Meghan’s rebranding. 

The jam that Meghan shared with celebrity pals. Labelled with Meghan’s elegant calligraphy, topped with a delicate ribbon tied in a bow, it was the embodiment of home-made elegance and gourmet luxury that she is desperate for her lifestyle brand to project

Meghan, hand in hand with her daughter Lilibet, in the cover photo for her new brand’s website – which was swapped in over night

Lilibet and her mother are barefoot as they skip across the lawn in a rare glimpse of the three-year-old

She also made a cheeky invitation to the Duchess: ‘If she wants, we can invite her to the patron saint’s fiestas and let her be the hostess.’

The picturesque Mediterranean community, with its cobbled streets and historic buildings, was historically one of the island’s agricultural hubs, producing wines and fruits.

In recent years, it has become a moderately popular tourist destination for visitors exploring the island, with the local tourism board hailing a ‘must-visit’ destination for wine fans.

The history behind the town’s coat of arms is unknown. However, it’s striking similarity could prompt the Duchess into an embarrassing third rebrand of her lifestyle firm.

It comes after the rebranding of American Riviera Orchard was branded a ‘total rush’ using ‘recycled’ promos made a year ago.

The relaunch leaked online at least 24 hours before her Instagram announcement, as revealed by MailOnline – and came just a fortnight before her new lifestyle show with business partner Netflix is broadcast.

One communications veteran said: ‘You wouldn’t catch Kim Kardashian doing this’, adding the 11th hour name change ‘telegraphed inauthenticity’.

As Ever was launched in a breathless selfie-style video and will sell jam – first trailed by Meghan and her famous friends last year – plus what looks set to be huge homeware and gardening ranges in the US.

There was also a written message to go with her Instagram video, which was filmed with the help of Harry

Her new branding features a palm tree, alongside two hummingbirds – likely to represent Archie and Lilibet

There was also a subtle dig at the Royal Family because Meghan told followers she had not been able to share her passion for food and home for ‘years’ until now. She shut her blog The Tig and social media accounts when she fell in love with Prince Harry.

Prior to Meghan’s announcement this week, internet sleuths had already discovered a Shopify website she’d set up for her As Ever products, featuring an unseen picture of the Duchess cooking.

The shot of the Duchess of Sussex using a mixing bowl is believed to have been taken during Meghan’s original American Riviera Orchard (ARO) promo almost a year ago.

She is wearing the same white outfit and appears to be in the same kitchen filmed for the brief teaser trailer filmed when ARO’s existence was revealed last March 14.

It also appears Meghan and her team made a last-minute change about the branding and the previous URL as-ever-store.myshopify.com now takes shoppers to her new website asever.com.

The mixing bowl picture of Meghan was last night replaced by the picture of her holding hands with her daughter Lilibet in the garden of their Montecito mansion as they skip across the lawn.

One branding expert told MailOnline: ‘It appears to have been a total rush – despite what Meghan says about As Ever going back to 2022.

‘They’ve clearly had to abandon American Riviera Orchard but recycle all the promos due to the trademark dispute. The leak happened yesterday and you have to wonder if her hand was forced’.