The British bike shop owner who gave Prince Archie a set of wheels for his fourth birthday has revealed she and her husband have been subject to online trolling after they posted a thank-you note from the Sussexes on Instagram – but insisted they have only ever wanted to support the couple.
The eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who turned four on May 6, the same day as King Charles’s Coronation, received the £240 ($300) Specialized bike in pink and turquoise from Martin and Jennifer Blevins.
The couple, who run the Mad Dogs & Englishmen Bike Shop in Montecito, where the Sussexes live in their $14.7million home, posted a thank you note on their Instagram page, which they had received from the Duke and Duchess after the gift had been received.
Archie’s new wheels, made by exclusive company Specialized, which sells bikes costing up to £8,700 ($11,000), is pink and turquoise and has stabilisers attached, which can be removed.
Now Jennifer has revealed she and her husband received harsh criticism online after sharing online that they had given Archie the birthday present.
She said that she and Martin chose the pink and turquoise model for its gender neutrality so that Lilibet could ‘grow into it’ in future.
Jennifer revealed the couple had considered sending Lili her own bike when she was old enough to ride, but added they are ‘frugal people’ and thought it was best to gift the family one sustainable gift that they can reuse.
After Jennifer posted the letter Harry and Meghan wrote to her to thank her for the gift, she claimed she has been the subject of online trolling, adding that she has some idea of how Meghan herself may have felt after also becoming the victim of trolls.
The couple were criticised by some who believed the bike should have gone to a less privileged child. Sussex supporters were upset that they shared the thank you a letter, on Sussex headed paper but not signed by the couple, on social media.
One critic wrote sarcastically: ‘Too important to write their own letters’. But one supporter said: ‘If you’re angry a company sent a bike to a little boy on his birthday as a sweet surprise, you’re the one who has the problem’.
Reflecting on the backlash: ‘Honestly I don’t even know if Harry and Meghan would accept another gift. We’ll wait and see, but they might be like, ‘We’re done with you guys’. That would make me sad but at the same time, I hope they would know that all we’ve ever done is try to be supporters and be positive.’
Jennifer, who appears to share a dog with Martin who is called Meghan Markle, revealed how her husband delivered the birthday gift to the Sussexes’ mansion.
She explained he drove to the family home and arrived at the gate with the bike, where he encountered the couple’s security team. After they conducted a background check, Martin was allowed to pass through the gates and drop off the gift, plus a bouquet of flowers.
A month later the thank you letter arrived from the couple.
Last week, Jennifer told PEOPLE: ‘A courier came by our little shop on Coast Village Road and he dropped off that letter.
‘I was making a joke, I said, “It better be a thank you letter” and it really was. I wasn’t expecting that. I had no idea.’
She added that, of all the gifts they had sent to celebrities over the years, no one had sent them a personalised thank you letter before.
Jennifer revealed she and Martin are thrilled with the thank you letter from the Sussexes and plan to hang it on their wall.
‘I’m going to make photocopies and put them in a frame in every store,’ she said.
Jennifer added that, despite a deepening rift between Prince Harry and other members of the royal family, she and Martin aren’t taking sides and love all the UK royals.
