Meghan launches her lifestyle business on fourth anniversary of ‘freedom flight’ to US

THE Duchess of Sussex launched her new lifestyle brand on the symbolic fourth anniversary of her “freedom flight” back home to the United States.

The Duchess unveiled the first glimpse of her product empire, American Riviera Orchard, yesterday, March 14 – the date she and the Duke of Sussex flew from Canada to California in 2020.

For the Duchess, it was a longawaited return to independence after several miserable years as a working member of the Royal family.

The launch of her new business venture, centred around a domestic idyll, had been months in the planning.

The release date raised eyebrows, however, as it overshadowed an award ceremony held in the name of Diana, Princess of Wales, in which the Duke was involved. The Duke met the young winners of the Diana Legacy Award by video link, but only after his brother, the Prince of Wales, who delivered a speech at the event and handed out awards, had gone home.

Two hours before the Prince took to the podium, the Duchess’s new website and Instagram page went live.

The brand, so far promoted with little more than a gold and cream aesthetic and cursive lettering, is expected to focus on gardening, homeware and food products.

Its trademark application includes cookbooks, tableware, various butters and jams and table place card holders specified to be “not of precious metal”. An international registration application is much broader, covering lighting, stationery, gardening paraphernalia, yoga mats, meditation cushions and pet items including collars, leashes and bird feed.

It also veers into the realms of the Princess of Wales’s parents’ former business, Party Pieces, with references to paper party decorations, party ornaments of paper, gift tags and gift wrap.

For now, though, a holding page simply directs those interested to sign up to a waiting list. For the Duchess, at least, American Riviera Orchard, which has been at least a year in the making, is the vehicle with which she hopes to secure long-term success.

The “highly personal project” will reflect her own tastes and lifestyle interests. If it takes off, it is thought likely to become her primary focus in the longer term.