Meghan Markle lifestyle brand launch with social media influencers skewered by royal watchers

Meghan Markle has launched the first product from her lifestyle brand – and it’s already raising eyebrows among royal watchers.

On March 14, the Duchess of Sussex teased her latest venture, American Riviera Orchard, as she launched a new Instagram account. There was no formal announcement made by the former American actress or her husband, Prince Harry.

On April 15, fashion designer Tracy Robbins and Delfina Blaquier, a photographer and wife of polo star Nacho Figueras, were among the first to share a photo of the brand’s first product, strawberry jam, on Instagram Stories.

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The brand’s logo on the jar appears to be Markle’s handwriting. The mother of two previously had a part-time job teaching calligraphy during her acting days, People magazine reported.

Kinsey Schofield, host of the "To Di For Daily" podcast, implied that the timing of the launch was in poor taste as both King Charles III and Princess of Wales Kate Middleton are battling cancer. Schofield noted that this would have been the perfect time for the families to make amends and put on a united front.

"Her ultimate objective today is to build an empire, change public perception through related Netflix content, and build a lifestyle brand through retail and content creation," Schofield told Fox News Digital. "But some might see it as Meghan just reverting back to influencer. This is a space that she feels confident in, so she could make it work, but compared to the hype that surrounded her upon exiting the royal family ... this feels like settling for something very … shallow."

"Had Meghan had patience and more respect for the royal institution, 2024 would have been the year that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle saved the day, saved the monarchy," Schofield said. "It would have been their time to shine. Instead, Meghan is dropping off preserve baskets to the 1% in Santa Barbara. So much for living a life of service."

Markle, 42, an American actress, became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Harry in 2018.

Harry, 39, has had a troubled relationship with the royal family since he quit royal duties in 2020 and moved to California with his wife. According to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media prompted the move.

The couple now lives in the wealthy coastal city of Montecito; Santa Barbara County is known as the "American Riviera."

British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital the launch made her scratch her head. In 2021, the couple’s office announced that they "remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role."

"We can all live a life of service. Service is universal," the statement reads.

"The former power couple, who were going to change lives for the better, influence world opinion and leaders, improve the environment and declared their life of service with their ‘service is universal’ statement, are now reduced to flogging jam," Fordwich said.

"Since they have publicly preached humanitarianism, what happened to helping the poor and starving?" she said. "One wonders if the proceeds from the jam will be donated to humanitarian causes. Is she going to feed them her jam? In keeping with their charitable and humanitarian causes, perhaps all the proceeds will be donated?"

People magazine noted that in 2021 the Duke and Duchess of Sussex lost their patronages – or their involvement with numerous U.K. charities – when it was confirmed that they wouldn’t return to their royal roles. According to the outlet, Harry also lost his honorary military appointments.

But according to Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

"Obviously, Meghan was inspired by her father-in-law, who, as Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, launched a line of food products under the Duchy of Cornwall label," said Andersen about the king.

"One of his most successful was a line of homemade jams, jellies and preserves," he said. "When Charles became king, Prince William and Kate Middleton inherited the duchy and all it produces – to the tune of a not-too-shabby $30 million annually."

"A jar of Duchy of Cornwall strawberry jam sells for $3.50, but it's doubtful that Meghan is aiming that low," he said. "Since only 50 jars of jam have been produced so far by Meghan's American Riviera Orchard brand, it's more likely she will follow the lead of celebrities like Julianne Moore and LeBron James, who have sold limited editions of honey for $250 a jar – all of it going to charity. Smucker’s it ain't."

"American Riviera Orchard is being touted as a high-end gourmet food, kitchenware and tableware brand – kind of Williams-Sonoma meets the Windsors," Andersen continued. "It seems a very safe choice, unless, of course, they go ahead and plaster a $250 price tag on their jams and jellies and pocket the proceeds. It just won't look good, especially with everyone pulling for William and Kate – purveyors of jams and jellies that sell for only $3.50 – as she battles cancer."

Doug Eldridge, an agent, celeb branding and marketing expert as well as the founder of Achilles PR, told Fox News Digital the Duchess of Sussex has her work cut out for her as several other celebrities have already launched successful lifestyle empires.

"Markle is neither Martha Stewart nor [Rachael] Ray – the former had a sophisticated take on decor and dinner parties, while the latter cornered the market with minute meals from the relatable girl next door," Eldridge said. "By contrast, Markle – who has no prior foothold in DIY, decor or creative entertaining – should try to follow in the footsteps of other Hollywood starlets who turned box office bucks into billion-dollar brands."

"Gwyneth Paltrow cashed in with Goop," Eldridge said. "Reese Witherspoon hit a home run with Draper James. Jessica Alba nailed it with The Honest Company. Jennifer Garner has a cash crop with Once Upon a Farm Organics. Each of these actresses had more star power than Markle, so they arguably had a head start when it comes to launching a brand and leveraging an engaged audience, but Markle could succeed, nonetheless."

It appears that Markle is just getting started. The duchess filed two additional trademark applications, on March 9 and March 19, that expanded the lifestyle brand into cosmetics and gardening.

The March 9 application listed items like bath soaps, body creams, cosmetics, scented oils, fragrances and incense. It also listed "Non-medicated skin care preparations; Bath and shower gels and salts not for medical purposes; Non-medicated hair preparations."

The latest filing on March 19 broadened the brand, including "Gardening trowels; Garden weeding forks; Gardening shears; Bags specially adapted for holding gardening hand tools; Garden tool gift set, comprised of hand tools for gardening."

The original trademark application, filed in February, included textiles, cutlery, "jellies, jams; marmalades" and assorted food spreads. It also said the brand might feature "coffee services in the nature of tableware; tea services in the nature of tableware; serving ware for serving food and drinks; decanters" and other beverage wear.

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The filing also said cookbooks and retail space should be covered by the application.

Jam may impress the real housewives of Montecito, but for the rest of America, the jury is still out.

"The question is what the market looks like for jam," said Eldridge. "Most people can name Smucker's, Welch's or the classic Polaner All Fruit. … Ironically, jam is arguably more popular in the United Kingdom than it is in the United States. Unfortunately, Markle burned the boats in spectacular fashion when it comes to the royal family and the U.K. consumer base, so we'll have to see how it plays on this side of the pond."

Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.