Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has launched what appears to be a new lifestyle brand with dozens of products in the works as she makes a return to Instagram after a four-year hiatus.

In Meghan’s first social media post since 2020, American Riviera Orchard was announced via nine Instagram posts that together show the brand’s gilded logo and crest. Within hours the account had more than 200,000 followers.

Royal watchers speculate that the logo is in the Duchess of Sussex’s own calligraphy.

The brand’s trademark filing application includes cookbooks, tableware, linens, a range of spreads and preserves including jellies, jams and nut butters, alongside table place card holders specified to be “not of precious metal”.

A second, international registration application includes stationery, textiles, string bags, yoga gear and a range of pet-related items such as leashes, collars, feeding mats and bird seed.

The launch also included an Instagram story which, with the sound off, bares some resemblance to the title sequence of the TV series “Succession,” showing Meghan arranging flowers in the kitchen of her estate in Montecito and posing in an alcove wearing a black ballgown. The video is set to Nancy Wilson’s “I Wish You Love.”

Alongside the Instagram account, the brand has also launched a website that consists of the company’s logo and a single sign-up box to join a waitlist.

There has been speculation Meghan would venture into a Martha Stewart or Gwyneth Paltrow-style product empire since she and Harry stepped down as senior royals in 2020.

Since then, the pair have entered into a number of high-profile media ventures, including a five-year deal with Netflix worth a reported $100 million, a $20 million Spotify contract that ended in mid-2023 and Harry’s bestselling 2023 memoir “Spare.”

But American Riviera Orchard is the first indication Meghan intends to sell physical goods.

Meghan and Harry also engage in charitable work through the Archewell Foundation, which advocates for digital trust and safety.

A lifestyle brand would be a return to form for Meghan, who previously interviewed celebrity friends, shared recipes and blogged about travel, beauty and food on “The Tig,” a lifestyle website she shut down before marrying Harry.

Like American Riviera Orchard, that blog featured calligraphic design details, though her new venture’s palette has changed from simple black and white to a more extravagant gold and cream aesthetic, more closely resembling a wedding invitation than a handwritten note.

By Alyx Gorman

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