RICHARD EDEN: Meghan Markle finds the ideal boss for her American Riviera Orchard… herself! Duchess of Sussex takes up CEO role at her lifestyle brand after fruitless search to find someone able to meet her expectations

After announcing her new cooking and lifestyle company, American Riviera Orchard, to much fanfare in March, the Duchess of Sussex began a search for a suitable Chief Executive Officer.

“Meghan is currently interviewing candidates for the role of CEO,” a source told me at the time.

Despite interviewing several candidates for the position, Prince Harry’s wife could not find anyone who met her expectations.

Now insiders say she has found the perfect candidate: herself.

“She is the CEO of American Riviera Orchard,” a “source with knowledge” told the New York Post.

In April, a California-based source told me, “The initial CEO search has been unsuccessful so far.”

I reported that the Duchess’s troubles had led to an intriguing new development: she had begun negotiations with Netflix about the US streaming giant entering into a commercial partnership with American Riviera Orchard.

“This is something new for Netflix,” the source told me. “It would run the lifestyle business with Meghan and develop products as a spin-off from her show. “If a partnership is agreed, it is likely that Netflix will appoint its own CEO to run the business.”

The Duchess of Sussex began a search for a suitable Chief Executive Officer in March

It is said that Meghan hopes that American Riviera Orchard, which will focus on home, garden, food and lifestyle products, will be very lucrative.

It is said that Meghan hopes that American Riviera Orchard, which will focus on home, garden, food and lifestyle items, will be very lucrative.

Meghan and Harry, pictured on a visit to Colombia last month, have also reportedly 'struggled' to find a CEO for Meghan's new homewares and lifestyle venture

Meghan and Harry, pictured on a visit to Colombia last month, have also reportedly ‘struggled’ to find a CEO for Meghan’s new homewares and lifestyle venture

Her lawyer has filed an application in the US to use the brand as a trademark for various goods, including cutlery, recipe books, tablecloths, napkins, jams, edible oils, vegetable and dairy-based spreads (photo: Heather Dorak posts a photo from her American Rivera Orchard Jam on Instagram)

Her lawyer has filed an application in the US to use the brand as a trademark for various goods, including cutlery, recipe books, tablecloths, napkins, jams, edible oils, vegetable and dairy-based spreads (photo: Heather Dorak posts a photo from her American Rivera Orchard Jam on Instagram)

It is said that Meghan hopes that American Riviera Orchard, which will focus on home, garden, food and lifestyle products, will be very lucrative.

Her lawyer has filed an application in the US to use the brand as a trademark for various goods, including cutlery, recipe books, tablecloths, napkins, jams, edible oils, vegetable and dairy-based spreads. The trademark application also appears to extend to a physical store where items can be sold.

The Duchess, 43, unveiled the initiative nine months ago by posting a glitzy video to Instagram showing her in a rustic-looking kitchen, arranging white and pink flowers and whisking something into a bowl.

She posted the video the day after I contacted her office for comment on her plans, which may have overshadowed an appearance by Harry, via video link, at an event that evening for the Diana Award, an organization he is closely associated with. heart lay.

The news that Meghan has appointed herself CEO of the company follows a series of anomalies within Harry and Meghan’s workforce.

The total number of staff members the Sussexes have lost since they married in 2018 is reportedly at least 18, with nine or more having left since moving to California.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes declined to comment last night.