By the time the royals rolled into nearby Montecito, Maureen and James Claffey of Red Hen Cannery in Carpinteria were accustomed to local headlines gone global. Since starting their homegrown and homemade marmalade and jam company in 2013, they’d endured the Thomas Fire blazing their mountains and barely evaded the ensuing mudslides. Then, just as the economy flickered back to life, the pandemic pounced.
So, they can be forgiven if the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrived in 2020 wasn’t top of mind. And it would have likely stayed that way if the royal couple hadn’t bought some cotton candy from the Claffeys’ daughter, a kindly exchange reported on Page Six .
“They didn’t introduce themselves,” recalled Maureen of their humble approach. “So, I said, ‘Based on your accent, you might like marmalade.’”