Priest locks social media after backlash over Meghan’s £112 advent calendar
Several British clergy members have faced hostile online replies from supporters of Meghan Markle after criticising her £112 advent calendar and recommending a cheaper Christian alternative. One priest, Rev Daniel French, compared it with a £5.99 calendar that includes Fairtrade chocolate and raises money for charity; fellow priest Father Chris Phillips later agreed with him. The dispute matters because Phillips says the abuse, including threats and personal attacks, led him to lock down his social media account.
Meghan’s As Ever calendar was made with Los Angeles chocolate company Compartés and contains 24 handcrafted chocolates, with flavours including strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and orange marmalade. The article says it is her first major As Ever product since she, Prince Harry and their children moved back to the UK, and that the calendar is inspired by the couple’s former Montecito home and garden. Both priests had been asked to comment.
- Clergy faced online abuse after criticising Meghan’s £112 advent calendar.
- A priest promoted a £5.99 charitable Christian alternative.
- Father Chris Phillips locked down his account after the backlash.
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Meghan Markle has released a £112 advent calendar through her As Ever brand, featuring 24 handcrafted chocolates in various flavours. The high price distinguishes it from most mass-market advent calendars.
Two priests, Rev Daniel French and Father Chris Phillips, criticised the calendar's price and promoted cheaper alternatives. Rev French highlighted a £5.99 calendar that includes Fairtrade chocolate and raises money for charity.
Supporters of Meghan Markle responded with hostile comments, including threats and personal attacks directed at the priests. The backlash prompted at least one priest to restrict access to his social media account.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Clergy have a responsibility to comment on consumer culture and ethics from a Christian perspective, particularly concerning attitudes towards wealth and charity. Comparing an expensive advent calendar to an affordable, charitable alternative is legitimate moral discourse that illustrates genuine values-based differences. This is not a personal attack on Meghan but a substantive point about priorities that clergy should be free to raise in the public square.
The case against
Using an institutional platform to publicly criticise the specific commercial products and pricing of an individual—particularly a public figure who cannot easily respond—represents an inappropriate exercise of authority. Everyone deserves freedom to conduct their business without facing coordinated criticism from authority figures deployed through their platforms. Clergy should recognise that public commentary targeting individuals' commercial ventures carries foreseeable consequences and that institutional restraint is warranted, regardless of one's ethical intentions.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Meghan’s Sussex squad fans ‘terrorise’ British priests and hound one off social media in row over advent calendar”.