It’s been nothing short of a week of chaos for the British royal family. Amid all the speculation about Kate Middleton’s whereabouts and marriage following her January abdominal surgery and subsequent temporary step back from royal duties, the rumour mill reached a fever pitch with the release of an official photograph of the Princess of Wales and her children to mark Mother’s Day. When fans on social media pointed out a number of inconsistencies in the photo’s editing, the photo was recalled by picture agencies. Kate was forced to release her own statement on X apologising and claiming that she had been the one behind the dodgy Photoshop job. But despite the royals this side of the pond being in a state of disarray, that didn’t stop social media from associating Meghan Markle with this ongoing controversy.
On Thursday, the Duchess of Sussex shocked fans with her own news. Yes, after months of speculation, the Duchess of Sussex returned to social media for the first time in four years to launch her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard. The initial posts, nine photos showing the brand’s gold cursive logo on a white background along with ‘Montecito’, the name of the town they live in, gave little away about the venture. Even the website linked in the bio was cursory, only offering the option to sign up for the mailing list. On the brand’s Instagram story, former Suits star Meghan was shown at home in the kitchen, arranging flowers. More was given away in the trademark applications filed by America Riviera Orchard. These legal filings suggest that the lifestyle brand will launch a number of products, including tableware, cookbooks and food items including fruit preserves, nut butters and jams. It sounds like American Riviera Orchard could follow in the footsteps of Gwyneth Paltrow's blog-turned-lifestyle-empire Goop.
But while the initial posts by Meghan, who hasn’t been seen on social media since 2020, were simple, they didn’t stop royal fans from launching predictable attacks. In a newspaper column for The Daily Mail, journalist Maureen Callahan wrote that it was ‘grimly predictable of Meghan to come crashing in’ at this difficult time for the royals, adding, ‘such trashy royalty-for-sale is exactly what the late Queen always feared”. Meanwhile, on X (formerly Twitter), royal biographer Angela Levin asked if Meghan was ‘trying to take the limelight from Harry’, just as he made a virtual appearance at the Diana Legacy Award on the same day.
In many ways, the comments about Meghan’s brand launch were to be expected. In her pre-Harry days, Meghan Markle ran a lifestyle blog called The Tig alongside her acting career. As with her time on screen, Meghan’s blogging past was used against her when she was first linked to Harry, with critics claiming both proved she was desperate for fame, rather than simply a woman trying to have a career in the entertainment industry.
In the years since the Sussexes left the UK in 2020 – in a move dubbed ‘Megxit’ – Meghan has kept a relatively low profile on social media. And despite a newly controlled approach to life in public eye - certainly more controlled than in her life as a royal - rumours have long been swirling that Meghan could return to acting, or that she was looking to bring back The Tig after reports claimed she’d been given a trademark to relaunch the blog. Even when these were only whispers, there was the predictable anger from those who dislike Meghan. This thing hadn’t even happened, yet it was already infuriating her critics, showing she can’t do anything right in their eyes.
Obviously, this has been one of the most bizarre weeks in the recent history of the royal family. Despite that having absolutely nothing to do with Meghan, the timing for the launch of her brand has become another prong of attack. It's safe, and sad, to say that whenever Meghan chose to announce this brand, it would have come at the wrong time for her critics.