When I heard that Harry and Meghan - Duke and Duchess of Sussex - had teased their next steps via a new website, I got very, very excited. Then I typed in the domain - Archewell.com - held my breath and, well, discovered a basic homepage that seems a mere placeholder for their eventual plans for the much anticipated charitable foundation. Still, having a simple, single page to go on has never stopped me going wild with ideas as to what it all means. Let's dive in...
Admittedly, there is not a lot to go on. First of all, the site explains the origins of the name Archewell, a portmanteau of two words that mean a lot to them.
'Arche: Greek word meaning "source of action,"' the text reads. 'Well: a plentiful source or supply; a place we go to dig deep.' It is unknown if the couple named their young son Archie for the same reason but it certainly seems to have offered inspiration, at least.
Fans are asked to provide their email address if they would like to be kept abreast of Archewell's 'activities and initiatives', while they are invited to get in touch via an office in Beverly Hills, California. The use of 'Join Us', rather than 'Sign Up', 'Register' or other such options encourages the idea that Archewell, while of course spearheaded by Harry and Meghan, will be a collaborative movement based in community.
Now, my peeve: the colour. Would we call this taupe? I blame the Kardashians. Mrs Hinch. Rihanna. Sienna Miller. Neutral tones are in, and we're seeing a lot of grey, calico and taupe this year. In this case, this calm, quiet colour suggests a lack of ostentation and flash. Archewell, this colour says, is about substance, not style. If Meghan had gone with a nice pastel, she would have been accused of going after the Instagram crowd. If they had gone with blue or red then they would have either been attacked for implying patriotism for the UK or choosing the US over their old home. Honestly, taupe may be boring as hell, but it is defiantly non-controversial. I dare Harry and Meghan's biggest critics to find something venomous to say about taupe.
Then, the small print. For a couple so concerned with privacy and how their public roles do not mean that the rest of the world owns them in any way, it is not surprising that they've really made their user privacy information crystal clear. 'Privacy' is clear and capitalised at the bottom of the homepage, and if you click through you get a really thorough walk through your rights. It's almost as if they knew that some tabloids would have a field day by digging through their site's legality and would make the flouting of a single GDPR rule into front page news. I am going to wildly speculate and imagine Harry and Meghan saying 'nope, not today thanks.'
Honestly, that's all I have to say. Even I, an avid Harry and Meghan fan, can't get too worked up about this teaser. But watch this space...
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