Newsweek’s “Down 77%” Traffic Slump Makes Jack Royston’s Meghan As Ever Obsession Look Rich

Jack Royston has spent months treating Meghan Sussex’s As Ever website traffic like a matter of national importance. Page views. Bounce rates. Similarweb estimates. Geographic breakdowns. Inventory glitches. U.S. visitors versus global interest. If Meghan’s jam gets clicks, Newsweek apparently needs a spreadsheet.

That would be one thing if Newsweek itself were thriving. But according to Press Gazette’s analysis of Similarweb data, traffic fell at 90% of the 50 biggest U.S. news sites in June, with Newsweek reportedly suffering the steepest year-on-year drop. Adweek also reported that Newsweek’s readership fell from about 100 million visits in May 2025 to 23 million the following month, alongside layoffs across multiple teams.  

So yes, there is something deeply ironic about Newsweek’s Chief Royal Correspondent repeatedly monitoring Meghan’s website performance while his own publication is reportedly facing a major traffic slump.

Meghan’s lifestyle brand is a private startup. Newsweek is an established media outlet whose business depends on attention, clicks and digital reach. Yet somehow, Royston has managed to make As Ever’s estimated traffic, U.S.-only shipping limits and alleged inventory issues sound like breaking royal news.

The framing is always dressed up as data. But the pattern feels familiar: take Meghan’s work, measure it against impossible standards, then present every fluctuation as evidence of failure.

Jack Royston’s Meghan Coverage Has A Long Pattern

Jack Royston is not new to the Meghan beat. He is Newsweek’s Chief Royal Correspondent, based in London, and host of The Royal Report. Over the years, his coverage has repeatedly placed Meghan under suspicion, scrutiny or comparison.

One of the most damaging royal narratives was the “Meghan made Kate cry” story. In 2018, The Sun ran that now-infamous headline in a piece by Jack Royston, then working at the tabloid. It followed earlier reporting by Camilla Tominey in The Telegraph about tensions over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress before Harry and Meghan’s wedding.

Meghan later told Oprah Winfrey the reverse was true: Kate made her cry and later apologised. Yet the story kept being recycled as proof of Meghan’s supposed difficulty. That is why Royston’s As Ever traffic coverage does not feel random. It sits inside a longer media pattern.

The Scrutiny Meghan Gets, But Charles Does Not

With As Ever, the method is more polished than the old palace whisper campaign. This time, the criticism comes dressed as data. Similarweb estimates replace unnamed sources. Bounce rates replace character attacks. Instead of “Meghan is difficult,” the frame becomes “Meghan’s traffic is slowing.”

But the effect is familiar. Meghan’s business is not treated like a young brand still building shipping access, infrastructure and customer trust. It is treated like a public referendum on whether she deserves to succeed.

And that scrutiny looks even more selective when compared with King Charles. His Highgrove shop sells royal-adjacent lifestyle goods too: preserves, hampers, wine, champagne, tea, gifts and homeware. Yet I could not find a comparable Jack Royston traffic-watch series breaking down Highgrove’s bounce rate, monthly visitors, international traffic or product inventory.

Royston has covered Charles’ business and charity controversies, but the same forensic website analysis applied to Meghan’s As Ever does not appear to have been applied to Charles’ commercial products. Charles is a taxpayer-funded monarch whose royal-adjacent ventures benefit from the prestige of the Crown.

Meghan’s brand, by contrast, is not funded by taxpayers and is operating as an independent private venture. Yet somehow, her jam, wine and flower sprinkles are treated like a public accountability crisis, while Charles’ own lifestyle empire avoids the same traffic-watch treatment. But the headlines still do the work. Data can look neutral while still being used to frame one woman’s ambition as failure.

The Press Gazette Discovery

Then came the part that made the whole thing feel almost too perfect. While Royston has been turning Meghan’s As Ever traffic into a recurring Newsweek storyline, Press Gazette reported that Newsweek itself had suffered the steepest traffic decline among major U.S. news sites in June. Adweek separately reported that Newsweek’s readership had fallen sharply, based on Similarweb data, and that the company had seen layoffs across sales, product, rankings and video teams.  

And that is where the irony writes itself. Royston’s As Ever articles repeatedly use Similarweb estimates to question whether Meghan’s brand is struggling, softening or failing to convert attention into sales. But the same kind of traffic data is now being used to show Newsweek’s own steep decline.

So if website traffic is suddenly the grand measure of success, Newsweek has some explaining to do. Because Meghan’s brand is a young startup with limited shipping and no official sales data released. Newsweek, by contrast, is a long-established media company whose business depends on traffic. Yet Meghan’s estimated web visits are treated like a public scandal, while Newsweek’s own readership collapse barely gets the same royal-correspondent energy. Perhaps the next traffic analysis should start at home.