Duchess of Sussex: Decorative crystal prisms, bird baths and ketchup – what to expect from Meghan’s new brand

Bird baths “for birds to bathe in”, pet collars, decorative crystal prisms and fruit butters are among just some of the items that could be offered under the Duchess of Sussex’s new luxury lifestyle brand.

The extensive list of products, that also includes meditation mats, ketchup, cutlery, and recipe books, revealed in a trademark application, gives a clear signal of the direction and ambition of Meghan’s American Riviera Orchard business venture.

It was launched with an Instagram teaser just days after she spoke about the dangers of social media.

A brief vintage-style video set to Nancy Wilson’s I Wish You Love showed Meghan baking and arranging white hydrangeas and roses.

It closes with the brand’s logo, American Riviera Orchard, written in fine gold script above the word Montecito – a celebrity enclave near Santa Barbara in California where the duke and duchess live.

The account had attracted more than 350,000 followers by Friday lunchtime.

Documents filed last month with the US Patent and Trademark Office shows the broad range of items the company wishes to offer.

They include:

• Tableware “namely, knives, forks, and spoons”

• Jellies, jams and marmalades

• Decanters, napkin ring and table place card holders

• Gardening trowels and weeding forks

• String lights for decoration

• Stationary sets, letter openers, journals gift wrap and cocktail napkins

• String shopping bags and “leashes for pets”

• Picture frames and pillows for household pets

• Aromatic oil diffusers, basins “in the nature of bowls”, carafes and honey dippers

• Pet food and bird seed

• Match boxes and match holders

The application to register the brand name and trademark protection was filed under a company called Mama Knows Best, which was recorded in January.

The American former Suits actress, 42, quit her personal Instagram account when she got engaged to Prince Harry, although the couple shared an account while they were working royals.

Read more:
Duke and Duchess of Sussex launch new website
Prince Harry says he and Meghan ‘felt forced’ to leave Royal Family
Royal race row ‘naming’: PR stunt or genuine mistake?

She and Harry stepped back from official royal duties in January 2020.

Last week, Meghan said she kept her distance from social media “for my own well-being”.

“You really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful – it’s not catty, it’s cruel,” she said, while speaking on a panel alongside Katie Couric and Brooke Shields.

Meghan said she had experienced online “bullying and abuse” while pregnant with her two children and after they were born.