Meghan Markle’s new luxury lifestyle brand is another attempt to ‘cash in’ on her royal status and may well break the deal she and Prince Harry made with the late Queen, royal experts said today.
The Duchess of Sussex launched the American Riviera Orchard in a glittering video on social media last night, where “word salad”-the store is set to flog housewares and high-end food, including jam, butter and coffee.
The promotional material makes no attempt to hide Meghan’s royal links or the bare commercial nature of her brand, with its Instagram profile including the caption “by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex’. In the meantime, website visitors are asked to provide their email for ‘Products’ and ‘Availability’ updates. .
Meghan’s biographer Tom Bower said the initiative is at odds with the Sussexes’ promise to the former queen not to trade away from their royal connections after the so-called “Sandringham Summit” in 2022.
He told MailOnline: ‘Meghan and Harry promised they would not use their titles as business vehicles and they have broken that understanding. The only solution is for the King to strip the Sussexes of their titles. Hopefully he will find the resilience.’
Visitors to the American Riviera Orchard website are asked to enter their email for ‘Products’ and ‘Availability’ updates
Promotional material makes no attempt to hide Meghan’s royal links, with its Instagram profile including the caption “of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex”
The brand’s launch video shows Meghan cooking in a stunning kitchen with copper pots hanging overhead as she whips
Phil Dampier, who wrote a book about Harry and Meghan’s romance in 2018, agreed that the ‘Gwyneth Paltrow-style lifestyle range’ runs ‘contrary to’ the couple’s agreement with Elizabeth II.
But he suggested King Charles was preoccupied with his own battle with cancer and the Princess of Wales’ recovery from stomach surgery meant the monarch was unlikely to take action.
“It is hard to believe that Harry and Meghan would have used their titles for commercial gain so blatantly if Queen Elizabeth was still alive – now that she is no longer with us they sense a weakness and exploit it,” he told MailOnline.
‘The King will not have the will or energy at the moment to fight this and will therefore let it go, but it just shows the hypocrisy of the Sussexes who criticize Harry’s family yet hold on to their royal titles for commercial gain.’
The Duchess of Sussex’s new project is said to have been in the works for more than a year – and will feature ‘all the things that are close to her heart’.
It is set to coincide with a new cooking show with Meghan on Netflix – where she will make and sell her own products.
‘This will lead to a book and blog to go along with her cooking shows.
In the meantime, a trademark application has been filed covering cutlery, mugs, jams, tablecloths and recipe books as well as pantry items, including coffee, jam and butter.
The Sussexes’ most lucrative commercial deal post-Megxit was a five-year deal signed with Netflix in 2020, worth an estimated $100m (£80m)
Meghan and Harry’s £15 million Spotify contract ended at the beginning of June last year
Last night’s launch sparked particular controversy due to its timing, with Meghan’s Instagram video published just 45 minutes before Prince William took to the stage at 6pm. Diana Legacy Awards.
It was also on the fourth anniversary of what Prince Harry called their ‘freedom escape’, filming himself as he celebrated his official emigration to the US.
The Sussexes have been looking for new ways to earn money to pay for their expensive security needs and a $9.5m (£7.5m) mortgage on their mansion in Montecito, California.
Their most lucrative post-Megxit commercial deal was a five-year deal signed with Netflix in 2020, worth an estimated $100m (£80m).
They are said to be working on ‘a bunch’ of new Netflix projects, including a film and two other ‘unscripted’ projects, but there has been uncertainty over whether the deal will be renewed next year, particularly after their £15m Spotify contract ended at the beginning of June last year.
This decision was also the subject of considerable controversy, with Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetization branded the pair ‘f***ing Grifters’ after the entire partnership saw Meghan produce just 13 episodes of her podcast series, Archetypes.
Last night’s launch sparked particular controversy due to its timing, with Meghan’s Instagram video published just 45 minutes before Prince William took to the stage at the Diana Legacy Awards. The picture shows William being met by Tessy Oho at the event
Royal expert Phil Dampier said: “It’s hard to believe that Harry and Meghan would have used their titles for commercial gain so blatantly if Queen Elizabeth were still alive”
Harry and Meghan’s decision to relaunch their ‘Sussex.com’ website last month has been seen as part of a wider ‘relaunch’ of the California royals.
The new website features Meghan’s coat of arms and glowing biographies of the couple, as well as the latest news about the couple.
Many close to the royal household saw it as a flagrant breach of the supposedly cast-iron assurances Harry and Meghan gave the late queen when in 2020 they bluntly quit as working royals and come dangerously close to using their royal status for commercial gain.
Others described it as a betrayal of the agreement, ‘if not in letter, certainly in spirit’.
But a source close to the couple denied the claims and defended the use of their royal titles for the website. They said: ‘Prince Harry and Meghan are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It is a fact. It’s their surname and last name.’
While American Riviera Orchard may yet prove to be a money-spinning venture, the Sussexes will likely continue to seek work in the media and entertainment world to supplement their post-Megxit income.
The couple made a surprise visit to Jamaica in January to attend the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love and support the Marley family and were guests of Paramount Pictures, which distributed the film.
This sparked fears that Harry and Meghan could become ‘Royals for hire’, with insiders reportedly saying a deal with the film studio could be in the pipeline.
Archewell has been contacted for comment.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to relaunch their ‘Sussex.com’ website last month has been seen as part of a wider ‘relaunch’ of the California royals
The Duchess of Sussex’s coat of arms appears on the newly launched Sussex.com website