Meghan Markle launches surprise new brand and Instagram account – details

Meghan Markle has launched a new website, American Riviera Orchard, as well as creating a new social media account for the venture.

The initial nine posts on the account simply feature a jigsaw of the brand's logo, which was stylised with gold writing and confirmed that the business would be based in Montecito, where the Duchess of Sussex has created a new life for herself alongside her husband, Prince Harry, and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Meghan also released a promotional video for the venture, which you can see below, featuring the Duchess plucking flowers, baking, and even looking mesmerising in an enchanting black dress that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Disney film.

After someone signs up for alerts, they get a message that reads: "Yes, I would love to be the first to know about products, availability, and updates from American Riviera Orchard."

Reason behind the brand name

The name of Meghan's new venture references the royal's life in California. Meghan's home in Montecito is located in Santa Barbara, which is often referred to as the 'American Riviera'.

What will the business sell?

Although the brand and social media account hasn't revealed much of the business, a trademark filing has revealed some of the things that the venture will be selling. Listed among them are digital and print cookbooks, tablewear including cutlery, dinnerware and decanters, a variety of napkins and tablecloths, and a variety of food ranging from jams and jellies to spreads and butters.

The website was launched on the same day that Archewell announced that Dr. Joy Buolamwini had won its Archewell Foundation Digital Civil Rights Award. Joy was honoured by the organisation for her own company, the Algorithmic Justice League, which works to "overcome racist and sexist biases in artificial intelligence systems".

The news comes shortly after the Duchess marked some good news, as a Florida judge dismissed her half-sister's defamation case against her. Samantha had filed the case following Meghan and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and their Netflix show Harry and Meghan.

Amongst the comments that Samanatha was suing Meghan over included the royal's claims that she grew up as an only child and that Samantha had changed her surname back to Markle after the Duchess began her relationship with Harry.

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In a 58-page summary, the judge explained the case was being thrown out as she ruled that Meghan's statements either weren't defamatory or were based on "substantially true evidence".

Since leaving the royal family in 2020, Harry and Meghan have had several deals, including a docu-series with Netflix, and they also have an upcoming movie with the streaming giant. Asked about the royal duo's slate, Netflix's Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria confirmed: "They have a couple of unscripted things they're working on with Brandon [Reigg].

"And they actually have like a bunch of development, they have a movie in development, a [scripted] series that they're working on. So all very early development, with a movie, a TV show and a couple of unscripted shows," she explained. "But yeah, the movie's great."

The royal couple also have their charitable organisation, Archewell, and last year, the company contributed over a million dollars to various initiatives. The generous donations included $200,000 to Georgetown University's gender justice initiative and $100,000 to the Halo Trust, an organisation Harry's mother, Princess Diana, famously supported.

Additionally, Archewell responded to global crises by donating $10,000 for flood relief in Nigeria and $50,000 to aid the Ukrainian crisis. These contributions are part of the foundation's broader effort to support diverse projects worldwide.

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