Meghan Markle believes the name of her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard is ‘perfect’, it was reported today – as a PR expert suggested the Duchess may have chosen not to include her own name due to her declining popularity in the US .
Meghan, 42, launched American Riviera Orchard in a glitzy video on social media last week, with the new venture underway on the occasion of a new Netflix cooking show starring her.
Royal watchers immediately branded the name ‘pretentious’ and a ‘word salad’, with former Dragons Den star Duncan Bannatyne interjecting to dismiss it as ‘nonsensical’.
But the Duchess would wear the name, with an insider insisting it felt ‘authentic’ to her. The source said People: “Meghan thinks the name American Riviera Orchard is perfect. It feels authentic to her. She can’t wait for the website to launch.’
Sean O’Meara, founder of the Essential Content PR firm, predicted that Meghan’s decision not to include her own name in the branding could be a reflection of her declining popularity in America.
Meghan Markle (right, with Prince Harry) thinks the name of her new brand is ‘perfect’, according to a source
The name American Riviera Orchard is described by critics as a ‘word salad’
Meghan, 42, launched American Riviera Orchard in a glitzy video on social media last week
A study published last month by Newsweek found that Meghan was liked by 31 percent and disliked by 30 percent, giving her a net approval rating of plus one. This was a big drop compared to December, when she was at plus 15.
Mr O’Meara told MailOnline: ‘Meghan and Harry’s collective and individual approach to ‘personal branding’ has been gradually shifting since the backlash to their Netflix documentary.
“They are all less enthusiastic about associating their names and images with the projects they are working on.
‘Last summer, PR consultants speculated that this might be on the advice of their own team, who seemed to have urged them to take a step back from the spotlight.
‘So with that in mind, launching a lifestyle brand without its name or image seems to be in line with the recent approach.
“I think this ‘private label’ approach is a way to limit the amount of attention Meghan gets, while at the same time allowing the brand to shape its own personality. Think of Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Goop’ for a similar approach.
‘When necessary, Gwyneth can promote the brand with the weight of her celebrity, but the brand is not inextricably linked to her.
“Often, taking steps to keep a founder separate from the brand he is creating is done with one eye on an exit strategy. It’s easier to sell a brand when it doesn’t rely on a single personality for market presence.’
The comments come as Harry and Meghan were last night ‘demoted’ on the official Buckingham Palace website.
Despite their acrimonious resignation as senior working royals in January 2020, full and separate profiles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remained alongside the rest of the royal family until yesterday morning.
Last night those photos and biographies disappeared for a while.
Within half an hour they were replaced by a significantly smaller, joint biography at the very bottom of the page – under the Duke of York. The Sussexes’ entry now says they have stepped back as working royals, with just a few short paragraphs about each of them.
Despite growing public anger over their continued recording, the Palace has sidestepped questions about why their details remained online, despite the couple quitting royal duties four years ago and launching repeated attacks on the royal family in print and television -interviews.
Publicity material for the brand makes no attempt to hide Meghan’s royal ties, with the Instagram profile captioned as ‘by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’.
It has been suggested that the press office was ‘slowly’ updating the website after Queen Elizabeth’s death and would ‘get around to it in time’.
Harry’s original profile described him as fifth in line to the throne and the youngest son of the king and Diana, Princess of Wales. His 2,700-word biography contained details of the prince’s early life, education and army career and was peppered with glossy photographs.
It also included details of his work in setting up the Invictus Games, his work on the issue of children living with HIV and sports initiatives.
There was also a whole section entitled ‘Supporting the Monarch’, which included his time working royally for his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
It said he represented her at events in the UK and abroad, and also attended state and ceremonial functions, including commemorative events.
Meghan’s separate profile was slightly shorter (about 1,300 words) and covered her education and career as an actress, as well as the charitable activities she undertook during her short time as a working member of the royal family.
Interestingly, there was no mention of her parents, including estranged father Thomas Markle.
In what many will see as a clear downgrade of their status, the couple now only share a joint biography with a photo of them arm-in-arm on a beach in South Africa, with a combined word count of just 577.
They are the only married members of the royal family who now do not have their own individual profiles. Harry’s contains only a few words about his birth and upbringing, as well as his career in the armed forces and his work with the Invictus Games.
Meghan says only that she was an actress and ran a website, and also briefly mentioned her patronage as a working royal and her official titles.
Meghan’s new project is said to have been in the works for more than a year – and includes ‘all the things that are close to her heart’
Their new entry begins with the statement that they stepped down as working royals in January 2020 and ends with the three official statements released by Buckingham Palace between 2020 and 2021 confirming their departure. However, in a gracious move, the palace has also included a link to Harry and Meghan’s new website.
The link reads: ‘Information about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s current work can be found on their official website: Sussex.com.’
Sources emphasized that the changes should not be seen as a snub, but as a long-awaited update. The Duke of York’s entry was also updated last night, sealing his fall from grace.
In what will undoubtedly be another humiliating demotion, his much-truncated biography now begins with the announcement of his withdrawal from public life following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal – and Queen Elizabeth’s decision to strip him of his military ties and royal patronages. Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night, but noted that the design and content of the website is updated ‘from time to time’.
A source said the couple’s separate pages had been merged into one as part of a routine content update.
Due to a ‘technical problem’ it took a while before the system was updated with the new joint profile.