Heiress Kayla Rockefeller says Meghan Markle is ‘controversial’

Once America’s most popular couple, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are fast becoming personas non grata – at least as far as New York’s high society is concerned.

In the latest sign Prince Harry and Meghan are losing their footing in the US, a scion of the Rockefeller dynasty – known as one of ‘America’s Royal families’ – has claimed that the Duchess of Sussex is now viewed as being too ‘controversial’ by many Americans. 

Kayla Rockefeller, 23, shared her insight into how the Sussexes are now viewed by the American public, while admitting that she wouldn’t want Meghan, 41, to wear or model her new Kayla Jaclyne jewelry line because she ‘couldn’t take that chance’ on such a contentious figure.

‘That would be controversial,’ she told DailyMail.com when asked if she’d like Meghan to model her new designs. ‘As a new jeweler I couldn’t take the chance. I mean, I could but people are so 50/50 [about Meghan].’

While launching her jewelry line, Kayla Jaclyne, the 23-year-old heiress said she wouldn’t want Meghan, 41, as a model because she ‘couldn’t take that chance’ on such a contentious figure

Kayla (pictured with her parents, Kimberly and Steven at her jewelry launch event) is a scion of the Rockefeller family-America’s most prestigious and wealthiest families

Kayla’s comments come just six weeks after a shock February poll revealed that Harry and Meghan’s popularity in the US had plummeted to an all-time low, making them less popular than the disgraced Prince Andrew. 

Between December 2022 and February 19, when the survey by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek was conducted, Harry’s rating sank by 48 points, while Meghan’s had dropped by 40 – giving them approval ratings of -10 and -17, respectively.  

Meanwhile Andrew’s rating at the time stood at -2. 

The new ratings came after Harry completed a publicity tour to promote his tell-all memoir, Spare, which was released less than a month after the Sussexes debuted their bombshell Netflix documentary series. 

In the book and in the many TV interviews he did to promote it, Harry, 38, made several damning allegations about his family – at one point accusing his brother William of grabbing him by the collar and throwing him to the ground during an altercation at Nottingham Cottage. 

The publication of the book prompted a slew of backlash from royal insiders and also saw the Sussexes suffering the abject humiliation of being parodied in an episode of South Park titled The Worldwide Privacy Tour, which mocked the duo’s pleas for privacy. 

Now it seems that another iconic American institution has turned its back on the Sussexes: The Rockefeller family. 

Kayla is a scion of the ubiquitous dynasty, which is one of America’s most prestigious and wealthiest families – and who collectively carry a fortune of over $360 billion.

‘That would be controversial,’ she told DailyMail.com when asked if she’d like Meghan to model her new designs (pictured). ‘As a new jeweler I couldn’t take the chance’

However, Kayla says she would love to enlist fashion superstar Karlie Kloss to model for her jewelry label  

Through their philanthropic endeavors, the Rockefeller family donates in the region of $200 million annually to various charities. 

Speaking at the Kayla Jaclyne launch party in Manhattan’s White Olive Restaurant, Kayla told DailyMail.com she is interested in using her platform to sell jewelry and become a philanthropist. 

Before her coming out debut at Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris, Kayla suffered a terrible disappointment when she struggled to find the perfect gems to match her debutante dress.

She realized there was a gap in the market for traditional jewelry designs with a modern twist and from there Kayla Jaclyne was born.

‘I was supposed to do a collaboration with someone else but it kind of fell apart,’ she said.

‘My mom was like: “You can totally do it on your own, it’s creative and something you’re interested in.” I owe a lot to my whole family my mom’s side, my dad’s side.’

Some might wonder why Kayla omitted the iconic Rockefeller name from her new jewelry brand – to which the budding designer responds that she wanted to ensure both sides of her family were represented, and not just the side with all the ‘star’ power. 

‘Even though Rockefeller gets all of the star quality and all of the attention, I would say both sides of my family played such an important roles in my life – not one played a more important role,’ she shared. 

Kayla celebrated the launch of her jewelry company at a glittering Manhattan event that was attended by several family members, including brothers Steven III and Christian Rockefeller

Kayla has a very close relationship with her father (pictured together) whom she describes as ‘great fun’ 

‘Jaclyne is my mom’s mom: my grandmother who passed last year. As a young girl, I found myself fascinated with my mom’s jewelry box… often rummaging through and trying on her things without permission.

‘My appreciation and admiration only expanded with time. Her jewelry box held such a wide range of pieces, the aesthetic found in its diversity; representing different styles, cultures, and trends throughout her life and travels.

‘I later discovered that many of the pieces I was fawning over originally belonged to my grandmother and great-grandmother.

‘My fascination with jewelry began my appreciation for strong and empowered women, emphasizing the importance of individualism through their own unique sense of style.

‘I began to collect jewelry at an early age. I found myself traveling and collecting special tokens to represent trips and moments.

‘Not all were particularly valuable, but they signified monumental times in my life. I adored the idea of one day having someone rummaging through my very own jewelry box. Now, I have designed Kayla Jaclyne as my ever changing jewelry box for all of you.

 ‘It was just a personal decision to go off on my own.’

While Kayla won’t be trying to enlist Meghan as a model any time soon, she believes that British actress and activist Emma Watson would be the perfect fit for her brand. 

The budding jeweler (pictured with her mother Kimberly) named the brand partially after her maternal grandmother Jaclyne  

Kayla partied with some of her best friends at her jewelry launch held at New York’s Olive White restaurant 

‘I’ve always loved Emma Watson, she’s so beautiful and so accomplished but she’s so much more. She’s beautiful, she’s so much more than just a cover girl,’ she said.

Another contender to model her wares is famous fashion star Karlie Kloss, who is married to billionaire business man Joshua Kushner.

‘Karlie Kloss is another one who has a lot more behind just their focus of modelling or acting’, Kayla said. 

Together with the family’s reputation for banking nous, Kayla’s family also boasts an impressive political pedigree – after her great-grandfather, Nelson Rockefeller, served as Vice President to Gerald Ford between 1974 and 1977.

But unlike Prince Harry, Kayla says she has no plans to ever lay bare her family’s roller coaster history in the pages of a book. 

‘We are the last people to ever write a tell-all,’ she shared. ‘I feel extremely blessed to come from my family we’re a close knit family. 

‘I would say two things on that: The Rockefeller brand, it’s a family but it’s also turned into a brand and I feel like it’s so established and it’s amazing the history is so in depth. I’m so thankful even to be a smidgeon part of that.’