Inside Meghan PLC: The Duchess of Sussex is set to sell everything from spoons to…

Since erupting into public consciousness in late 2016 when her romance with Prince Harry became ­public, Meghan Markle has insisted on attaching two epithets to her name — humanitarian and feminist.

Back when she was a working member of the British Royal Family, this was how the biography on the institution’s web page — at her insistence — described her, and how she has determinedly portrayed herself since.

Now, though, hot on the heels of the ­couple’s philanthropic relaunch with the ­sussex.com website, comes Meghan’s own passion project.

And — never mind the good works and the feminism — it appears that it is as a homemaker that Meghan now seeks to shine.

Via the rather clumsily named American Riviera Orchard, she will be selling everything from spoons and calligraphy pens, to dog beds and bird-feeders, as well as nut butters and jams.

Indeed, when one reads the full list of wares the Duchess of Sussex is ­potentially seeking to sell, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that this new company ­heralds nothing less than the birth of Meghan PLC: an all-encompassing lifestyle brand for those who are keen to imitate her trademark glossy ‘stealth wealth’ look.

Indeed, filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office mention a very broad range of goods which might be sold by her, ranging from gardening forks and string lights, branded tote bags, blankets, cushions, yoga mats, salsas, spices, chutneys and dog-collars.

Other proposed items for sale include servingware, decanters, tea and coffee cups, dinner services, matchbox holders, stationery of all kinds and cookbooks, both online and in print.

Described as ‘Tig 2.0’ it does appear to take up where her pre‑Harry blog, The Tig, left off and looks to aim to compete with Martha Stewart, the American billionaire cooking, crafts and gardening guru who rules the scene.

But while The Tig, the influencer brand Meghan created, had a larky, single girl vibe and was all about exotic mini-breaks, afternoons filled with rosé wine and high heels, her new project is very much the ‘mom’ version.

What, truly, could be less carefree than a napkin ring, guest book or table place card-holder, all of which speak to a distinctly studied kind of living? These are all items which she is seeking to sell under the trademark.

An application at the U.S. ­Patent and Trademark Office shows that American Riviera Orchard may even one day open a shop, although sources say initially this will be an Instagram and website business.

It — the Instagram account, website and online shop — will go live imminently. Probably early in April. What can we expect?

But while The Tig, the influencer brand Meghan created, had a larky, single girl vibe and was all about exotic mini-breaks, afternoons filled with rosé wine and high heels, her new project is very much the ‘mom’ version

First, there will be more filmed footage, which has been captured at the Montecito home she shares with Harry and their children Archie and Lilibet.

In the brief video released so far, Meghan has been seen cooking, wearing a white tank top, arranging roses and wafting around her garden in a black ballgown.

It’s thought their trusted friend Terry Wood, who ­produced the Oprah special and Meghan’s Archetypes podcasts, is involved in ­filming content for the ­website, which will initially show Meghan cooking and entertaining.

First out of the blocks will be videos which offer some recipes, and American Riviera Orchard will sell a limited range of goods, too. Sources indicate coffee cups and jams will be first.

In terms of food, Meghan’s specialities include roast chicken — following the recipe of the American TV cook Ina Garten, also known as the Barefoot Contessa, which involves basting the skin with ­butter; zucchini pasta sauce, which involves cooking the vegetable for four hours ‘until creamy’; and simple grilled fish tacos.

She’s also a fan of that Californian staple ‘avo’ toast, which she describes as ‘soul-nourishing’ and serves with a sprinkle of feta, chilli flakes and pepitas — a type of pumpkin seed.

Sources indicate that the watchwords for Meghan’s new venture are ‘elevated’ and ‘curated’ — and that the website will offer an oh-so-luxe take on home-making.

Her lifestyle in that famous $14million mansion will be front and centre of her new project. Having watched videos on the website, mere mortals will have the chance to buy expensive cream coffee cups and dream they, too, have married a prince and live in a home with ocean views and 16 bathrooms.

Not only will there be cooking wares approved by Meghan but, in the months to come, a full-on cooking show presented by her will be made for Netflix.

In [the Netflix documentary] Harry & Meghan and the Oprah interview, Meghan let cameras capture some aspects of her private life. But to pull off a successful lifestyle show she’ll have to be prepared to swing the door all the way open, writes Alison Boshoff

Sources say Meghan will ‘tell the story of her life through her recipes’ — a mouth-watering prospect for a woman as fascinating as she. Might her family and famous friends be included, too?

It would only be natural if they were, and would no doubt work wonders for ratings and sales if she was seen making jam with daughter Lili or whipping up a tasty chicken adobo for friend and neighbour Ellen DeGeneres.

Consultant Rachel Richardson, a former Snapchat executive, said: ‘The reason Martha (Stewart) . . . and Gwyneth ­(Paltrow) have crushed it is because they’ve let viewers into their most private spaces and shared their ­biggest secrets.

‘Authenticity is key in the lifestyle arena, and those that succeed tend to be willing to share their whole lives. Think about it — what do we not know about Gwnyeth Paltrow?

‘In [the Netflix documentary] Harry & Meghan and the Oprah interview, Meghan let cameras capture some aspects of her private life. But to pull off a successful lifestyle show she’ll have to be prepared to swing the door all the way open.’

Hollywood sources tell me that Meghan has been inspired in the venture by three key women: Rachel Jackson, Chrissy Teigen and Camila Alves.

Jackson, a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, started out as a make-up artist before pivoting to run a business — via QVC — selling ‘no make-up’ make-up. Her commercial success has been stellar.

Teigen, wife of singer John ­Legend, and Alves, wife of actor Matthew McConaughey — have both written best-selling cookbooks and put out their own video lifestyle content to some acclaim.

McConaughey, incidentally, shares a financial adviser, Adam Lilling, with Prince Harry.

It’s notable that the owner of the American Riviera Orchard firm is not Harry and Meghan’s existing vehicle Archewell, but a new entity, Mama Knows Best LLC — based in Delaware like the couple’s other companies.

Its postal address is listed as the fifth floor Wilshire Boulevard address of Meghan’s long-term LA-based lawyer Rick Genow.

What to make of this then? The most significant detail, I believe, is that Mama Knows Best is not a part of Archewell.

This means there is clear water between Meghan and Harry’s mutual philanthropic and ­commercial interests, which reside in Archewell, and this solo enterprise.

Indeed, as the Instagram page for American Riviera Orchard notes, it is ‘By Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’.

the branding on her new website is quasi-regal, with a golden crest made out of the letters A R, ­presumably standing for ­American Riviera

It seems the ‘brand separation’ of Harry and Meghan, predicted by this paper in September last year, has come to pass. Harry has his Invictus Games and eco travel venture Travalyst; now Meghan has American Riviera Orchard.

Interestingly, for all her raging against the royal institution, the branding on her new website is quasi-regal, with a golden crest made out of the letters A R, ­presumably standing for ­American Riviera, which is how some describe the stretch of Californian coast which includes their home in Montecito.

The genesis of Meghan’s latest relaunch lies back in the ­pandemic, when she started to consider all she lost when she gave up The Tig. She had shuttered the site in 2017 just before she and Harry announced their engagement.

Then, in an interview with The Cut in 2022, she teased she was coming back onto Instagram, only to row away from that suggestion.

But her plan came a large step nearer when she signed with the William Morris Endeavor (WME) agency in April 2023.

At this point, the Harry & ­Meghan docuseries and Harry’s book, Spare, had just been released. Their revelations led to them being regarded as toxic, ­lampooned as eternal ­complainers, and both she and Harry were said to be rather regretting that they had signed tell-all deals after Megxit.

Harry famously said they had no choice because his family had ­’literally’ cut them off financially when they left the UK.

Her team at WME included power agent-turned-Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel; Brad Slater, the rep and brand architect within the agency; and longtime Serena Williams agent Jill Smoller.

In a statement at the time, WME noted: ‘Film and television production, brand partnerships and overall business-building will be explored. Acting will not be an area of focus.’

In the months that followed, Meghan had a number of meetings about brand partnerships, which would have been lucrative, and film production possibilities (although the Hollywood actors and writers strikes closed off this avenue for months).

But although Archewell did a deal to option the rom com Meet Me At The Lake, nothing else seemed to stick. Speculation that Meghan might represent Dior also came to nothing.

Instead ‘overall business-­building’ became the focus.

The idea of leaning back into her Tig years continued to appeal, although nobody can say Meghan has rushed into anything.

Some Netflix moles cavil that she and Harry are ‘very indecisive’, and the elongated timeframe of this return to Instagram suggests that is accurate.

While considering the likely end of their Netflix deal next year, the idea of a cookbook continued to fascinate Meghan, as I reported last month.

She has always been a devoted foodie, keen on all things health and wellbeing, and the Hubb Community Kitchen charity cookbook released in the wake of the ­Grenfell Tower disaster was her idea — and a great success.

Meghan-friendly author Omid Scobie said last year in his book Endgame that the couple came to regret signing their £15.8m podcasting deal with Spotify after clashing with executives at the tech company, and had started to look at ‘more creative projects’.

Meghan was working on ‘something more accessible, something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life’s simple pleasures and family’. The idea was that it would be ‘safe and timeless’.

He added: ‘I still don’t quite understand what that business project will be because, as I spoke to people while writing the book, it changed about five times.’

Now, though, we know.

Early indications are of stratospheric interest — within 24 hours of the Instagram page appearing, 400,000 had signed up for updates from it. The expectation is that Meghan can make millions, fast, from her new venture.

Of course, there are naysayers. A columnist at the New York Post wrote: ‘What a shamelessly ­opportunistic moment to pull back the curtain on some tablecloths and coasters.’

He added that he expected the ‘glorified Etsy page’ to be ‘an embarrassing blip’.

‘It’s been bungle after bungle, lazy move after lazy move,’ he continued. ‘For Markle, CV has come to stand for Costly Vanity.’

We will find out soon who is right.