New details revealed on Meghan Markle’s ARO brand as she aims to ‘elevate the everyday’ with her jam despite setbacks

MEGHAN Markle has been fairly quiet lately, despite having numerous projects on the horizon, such as her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard (ARO).

The Duchess of Sussex announced she is launching the brand back in March – but has so far only sent branded jams to 50 high-profile friends and influencers.

Meghan, 43, is also set to debut a cooking show on Netflix that will tie in with the selling of her ARO products, which could include everything from tableware to dog treats.

According to royal biographer Emily Andrews, ARO is aiming to sell Meghan as a “beacon of inspiration, aspiration and attainability.”

She told Grazia: “Her style will be sold as ‘affordable elegance’ and while her image will concentrate on her status as a family-orientated yet ‘regal’ figure, while customers will be urged to embrace their innate elegance and ‘elevate the everyday.’”

However, her lifestyle brand has recently “suffered a bit of a blow.”

Trademark woes

The Duchess of Sussex has experienced a setback in the bid to trademark her new homewares empire – after trying to claim ownership of the entire American Riviera. 

In a setback officials pointed out that the wording of her brand is a common nickname for Santa Barbara in California.

Without a trademark in place, anyone can “imitate the brand, flog cut-price rip-offs and cheapen its image.”

Emily added: “Of course, Meghan’s office might submit a disclaimer mark confirming no claim is made to the exclusive right of ‘American Riviera’ but that does prove rather a headache for her and for Netflix (who are helping to bankroll it).”

Further hitches include Meg and her team filling in the official forms incorrectly, and failing to send enough cash.

And their application wasn’t even signed.

Her team, led by top US attorney Marjorie Witter Norman under Meghan’s fledgling Mama Knows Best LLC firm, applied to the Patent and Trademark Office in the States for legal protection to exclusively trade using the name ‘American Riviera Orchard’.

But the application, filed in March, has been rejected and now she has three months to amend the request – or it will be removed from the register.

‘Tricky time’

Emily added: “This all comes at a rather tricky time for Meghan – she and Harry signed a five-year deal with Netflix, which is due to come to an end next year.

“Neither side ever confirmed how much the deal was worth, but aside from their tell-all self-titled documentary series and another on the Invictus Games, they had nothing else to show for the reported 50 million.”

The Sussexes have bought the film rights to make a movie based on the book Meet Me at the Lake which is said to still be “in the works.”

Meanwhile, alongside Meghan’s cooking show, Prince Harry is reportedly filming a documentary on polo.

This comes as Meghan and Harry’s reported $20million Spotify deal falling through after one podcast series of Archetypes – with one senior official labelling them as “f***ing grifters”. 

Harry’s in the money

However, the Sussexes may be receiving a large sum of cash soon, as it was reported Prince Harry will accept an £8million inheritance despite not being a working royal.

Before her death, Harry’s great-gran the Queen Mother arranged for him to get the trust fund payment on his 40th birthday, which recently took place.

Former royal butler Grant Harrold told the New York Post: “I’ve no doubt that Harry will accept it.

“It’s money that’s owed to him, money that’s coming to him. I don’t think he will decline the money.

“It’s inheritance so it’s his right. It’s already something that has been set in place for years now.”