A Spanish mayor has opened up on her heartbreak as her small town cannot afford to sue Meghan Markle.
The Duchess of Sussex has been urged to remove the logo of her newly rebranded lifestyle venture "As Ever" after the mayor of a small Mallorcan town claimed it is an "exact copy" of their centuries-old coat of arms.
Xisca Mora, mayor of Porreres, expressed shock at the striking similarities between Meghan's new brand logo and their town's heraldic emblem, which dates back to 1370.
Both designs feature a palm tree with two birds in a crest-like frame, though Meghan's version reportedly uses hummingbirds while the town's features swallows or pigeons.
Spanish mayor opens up on heartbreak as small town 'cannot afford' to sue Meghan Markle
Getty
The small Spanish town has acknowledged it cannot pursue legal action against the Duchess over the logo dispute.
"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," Mora told local publication El País.
She later told the Mail: "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.
"We are still a bit shocked, we thought it was fake news at first, we didn't know what was happening."
As Ever logo appears rather similar to the Porreres Coat of ArmsAs Ever / Wikipedia
The similarities between the designs are "undeniable", according to the mayor, who noted that "they are the same, except the birds are a little different and they used different colours."
The new logo was unveiled on Tuesday alongside Meghan's rebranding from "American Riviera Orchard" to "As Ever".
It is understood that the palm tree in Meghan's logo represents her California home, while the hummingbirds are said to be a favourite of Prince Harry's.
The Mirror has claimed that comprehensive global searches of registered trademarks were conducted during the logo's creation process.
Meghan Markle, 43, unveiled 'As Ever' as the successor to American Riviera Orchard, alongside launching a website featuring a photo of her with daughter Lilibet, three, holding hands in the California sunshine
Instagram / @meghan
The mayor emphasised that the coat of arms represents "part of the idiosyncrasy of Porreres, of its heritage and cultural identity".
"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," she said.
The town's legal team has advised that tracking down and challenging the logo would be "unfeasible" due to the complex and costly nature of such proceedings.
Despite the logo controversy, Mora highlighted a coincidental connection between the two parties' interests in jam production.
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Meghan Markle, 43, unveiled 'As Ever' as the successor to American Riviera Orchard, alongside launching a website featuring a photo of her with daughter Lilibet, three, holding hands in the California sunshineAs Ever website
"We have the best jam in the world," the mayor declared, adding that "the farmers will be happy" if Meghan decides to market the town's jam.
Meghan had previously announced jam would be part of her product line, stating: "Of course there will be fruit preserves, I think we're all clear at this point that jam is my jam."
While welcoming the unexpected publicity for Porreres, Mora extended a warm invitation to the Duchess.
"If she wants, we can invite her to the patron saint's fiestas and let her be the hostess," she offered.
The mayor also noted that even the promotional imagery on Meghan's website appears to feature "a palm tree that is typical of Mallorca because it doesn't grow anywhere else."
