Meghan Markle has quietly launched her new Instagram account, a business profile for her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.
Her previous Instagram account @sussexroyal was shared with her husband Prince Harry and had 9.4 million followers before it was deactivated in 2020 after the couple quit being working royals.
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In August 2023, an Instagram account with the handle @meghan garnered attention, with many royal watchers believing this to be connected to the Duchess of Sussex.
Despite making zero posts and following no one, fans were certain that the account was Meghan’s given many of her friends and colleagues followed it.
The profile picture is also of pink peonies, which Meghan herself has confirmed to be her favourite flower.
As of March 2024, this account has still not posted anything.
In comparison, the @americanriverieraorchard handle is confirmed to be Meghan’s new lifestyle brand, based in Montecito, California where she lives with her family.
The brand is an extension of her old blog The Tig, where she penned articles about lifestyle, travel, wellness, beauty food, and fashion before it was shut down in 2017 after her engagement to Prince Harry.
It is expected that American Riviera Orchard will primarily focus on home, garden, food, and general lifestyle.
Rumours first started swirling that Meghan would be following in the footsteps of Gwenyth Paltrow and her successful wellness brand GOOP in late 2023.
Speaking with Harper’s Bazaar royal editor at large Omid Scobie, a friend of the duchess revealed at the time that her next venture would be “accessible” and “rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life’s simple pleasures, and family.”
“Meghan is busy working on creating something safe and timeless. And something that won’t be accused of riding on the back of anything royal.”
In a cryptic video posted to stories by the new account in March, the camera depicted Meghan arranging a bouquet of white roses before cooking in her sun-filled kitchen while wearing a simple white tank top with Nancy Wilson’s I Wish You Love playing in the background.
The feed was also filled with tiles depicting the logo for the brand. It is unclear when it will officially launch, but by looking at the official trademark application for the new business, we do have some idea of what is to come.
According to the application (which was filed on February 2nd), America Riviera Orchard plans on selling a variety of homewares, cookbooks, and even foods such as jellies, jams, oils, spreads, and preserves to name a few.
Another trademark application filed on February 9th also noted that the Duchess intended to sell cosmetic products, home decor, stationary, linens, small kitchen appliances, yoga equipment, gardening gear, jewelry, furniture, pet accessories, skincare, and more, begging the question – is there anything America Riviera Orchard won’t be selling?
In mid-April, the first product from American Riviera Orchard was officially revealed as some of Meghan’s closest celebrity friends took to their social media to share photos of a limited-edition jam.
It’s been a busy start to the year for the royal who recently relaunched her podcast Archetypes with a brand new look.
Alongside her husband Prince Harry, she also relaunched their website with the domain sussex.com despite not using the “Sussex Royal” name since January 2020.
