Meghan Markle earlier this year sent 50 jars of artisanal strawberry jam to 50 famous friends to soft launch American Riviera Orchard, the Duchess of Sussex’s soon-to-be-released lifestyle brand, which will sell things like bird seed, bath salts, yoga kits, dog shampoo and reed diffusers to Californians not yet familiar with the thrill of pottering about the Cotswolds. (Consider American Riviera Orchard Montecito’s equivalent to Tetbury’s Highgrove Gardens.)
It has so far been a measured roll-out – one logo uploaded to Instagram two months ago, a flurry of speculative articles based on trademark documents and rumours of an affiliated Netflix series – but the Duchess now seems to be ramping things up, having been photographed at the G9 business summit in the Hamptons alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern in a £464 linen suit from the Australian label St Agni. (Ie, the same brand that outfitted Markle for her appearance at a post-match dinner at the Sentebale Polo back in April and a trip to Nigeria the following month.) She wore that casually tailored set with oversized Heidi Merrick shades, Lorraine Schwartz jewels and Princess Diana’s priceless Cartier Tank Française watch.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
According to Paul Burrell – the former royal butler – Prince William initially requested the Tank Française from his late mother’s collection, while Harry inherited her sapphire engagement ring. The brothers later swapped when William was preparing to propose to the Princess of Wales in 2010, leaving Markle, who perhaps shared Princess Diana’s taste, as next-in-line for the timepiece. The Duchess had, after all, once purchased a two-tone version of the Tank Française in 2012, which she had engraved with “To M.M. From M.M.” on the back. “I plan to give it to my daughter one day,” she said in a past interview. “That’s what makes pieces special, the connection you have to them.”
