Meghan Markle Quietly Launches Her New Brand, American Riviera Orchard

Meghan Markle is ready to unveil what appears to be her post-royal, post-The Tig lifestyle brand. The Duchess of Sussex launched the Instagram and website for American Riviera Orchard today. She shared an Instagram Story to the account featuring her in the kitchen.

As People pointed out, American Riviera is a term used to describe the Santa Barbara area where Meghan and Harry live. Travel + Leisure explained why the region was given the name, writing, “Santa Barbara has been fondly referred to as ‘The American Riviera’ for more than a century because of its temperate climate and lush landscapes, as well as its robust food and wine culture.”

Montecito, the city where Meghan and Harry’s home is located, is also part of the brand name, appearing right below American Riviera Orchard in the logo.

The brand’s Instagram currently features multiple posts assembling the logo. None of the posts have a caption.

The brand’s bio reads: “by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex⁣⁣⁣. Established 2024⁣⁣⁣,” and links out to a corresponding site, where fans can sign up for the wait list. Rumors of Meghan launching another lifestyle brand have been circulating for a while; TMZ reported on them back in September, as Meghan had refiled for trademarks for The Tig around that time.

The timing of American Riviera Orchard’s launch is interesting. It comes the same week the majority of news coverage regarding the royal family has been focused on Kate Middleton and the altered U.K. Mother’s Day photo of her that Kensington Palace released.

Photo agencies, including the Associated Press, pulled the image shortly after due to its manipulation. The Palace refused to give them the original, unedited image, and Kate ultimately admitted in a Kensington Palace statement that she had edited the photo and apologized for doing so.

Kate, of course, is recovering from abdominal surgery. She has not made a public appearance since the holidays and is not expected to until after Easter.

A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan spoke to Newsweek earlier this week about a Page Six source pulling them into the photo controversy. They made a point to distance the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from the news story.

A source “close to” Meghan and Harry claimed to Page Six, “If Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same issue they would have been annihilated. The same rules do not apply to both couples. This isn’t a mistake that Meghan would ever make…she has a keen eye and freakish attention to detail.”

In response, Meghan and Harry’s spokesperson told Newsweek, “With respect to Page Six, that did not come from us.”