15 March 2024 , 15:48
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Meghan Markle is using Princess Diana’s legacy to promote her new business, a royal expert has claimed.
The Duchess of Sussex unveiled her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard on Thursday, as it was revealed the new business venture would be focusing on homewares, as well as cookbooks and food. Fans of the former Suits star were shocked to discover Meghan was planning on releasing her own line of jellies, jams and nut butters, as well as a chic collection of tablecloths, serve ware and napkins.
She announced her new brand, which is already being compared to Gwnyeth Paltrow’s Goop, on Thursday, on the same day that Prince William and Prince Harry were giving speeches at the Diana Legacy Awards in London. Hours before her estranged brother-in-law took to the stage to deliver an emotional tribute to his late mother, who died in 1997, Meghan went live with the American Riviera Orchard brand on Instagram, stunning her fans and followers.
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Meghan has been accused of purposefully planning to launch on the same day as the awards (Getty Images)Both Harry and William appeared at the awards, but while the Prince of Wales attended in person, the Duke of Sussex gave his speech via video-link, and only after his big brother had left the ceremony. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams claimed the timing of the launch was no accident, and alleged Meghan had purposefully waited until the day of the Diana Legacy Awards so she could attract more attention as the focus was already on her husband’s “very sad” public rift with his brother William.
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"The timing simply means that obviously (yesterday would have got them) a lot of promotion. Obviously, so, it's obvious why they chose this time. As far as the timing is concerned it's perfectly obvious why the Sussexes have done this - they always plan pretty meticulously,” he told The Sun. “There's no doubt that they never do anything accidentally.”
Harry appeared via videolink, while William gave a speech in personRichard claimed Meghan had chosen the same day as the Diana Legacy Awards in an effort to “underline the very deep rift in the Royal Family”, and her actions have “reminded us that the Sussexes are still in the game”. He slammed Harry and Meghan for allowing the launch to happen on the same day the warring brothers were paying tribute to their beloved mother, and called upon royal fans to make up their minds as to whether it was “tasteful”.
However, he did point out that the announcement of American Riviera Orchard has helped distract attention from the ongoing scandal surrounding Kate Middleton, following on from her embarrassing photo-editing gaffe. The mother-of-three found herself embroiled in controversy after Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis on Mother’s Day, only to have leading news agencies retract the image because it was edited.