Harry and Meghan have caused controversy once again, this time over their planned trip to Colombia. Royal commentator Angela Levin says the move risks upsetting King Charles and other members of the royal family. “Part of the mess,” I would like to tell you, “I think it’s extraordinary that if you weren’t getting along with your father, if you weren’t getting along with your brother, and you really wanted to make it a good, warm relationship again, you wouldn’t do something that would really annoy them to pieces, would you? I mean, I think this is a appalling way to behave.”
Meanwhile, Meghan’s new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, has hit another roadblock. Now, Angela, we understand there’s a trademark issue. “Yep, she’s in a jam, that girl. You know, American Riviera Orchard has the longest name and now it has the longest launch in Christendom to actually get the product on the shelves.”
“That’s right, Caroline. There are trademark irregularities. Look, this can happen. And what it means is that because they are adding different products—yoga blankets, picnic sets, all sorts of books and recipe books—and because they’re going global, they need to have this all ticked off in different countries around the world. So it’s a normal thing to happen. But what she’s done wrong is she’s launched it back in March; she’s now got 615,000 followers on her Instagram account. Look, it’s all been very kind of mysterious. Here’s some glimpses, but if she’s actually gone into production with those glimpses, they will have gone past their use-by date by the time this product actually hits the shelves, because it’s now not expected to come out until next year. My problem is that all you know, good for her, she’s looking at being the next Gwyneth Paltrow, but she looks seriously amateur by having this delay.”
“Well, you would have thought you would have got all the trademark stuff sorted before you launch, but anyway, who am I to say?”
“Now, Bronte, there’s also a report this week that friends of Meghan have encouraged her to drop the idea of launching an alcohol brand. We did discuss the idea of wine under American Riviera Orchard a few weeks ago on the show, but what’s this all about?”
“Gosh, American Riviera Orchard, it really is a mouthful, isn’t it? And as Angela said, this is kind of the issue. So, there is the time it’s taken for this to roll out and also the fact that it’s just such a broad scope of products already. She really needs to have a clear focus as she launches this, which we haven’t seen yet. But in terms of the wine, okay, so Meghan clearly has an interest in this area. Her former lifestyle blog was actually named after her favorite wine, so certainly it’s something she’s passionate about. But the wine business is a whole other thing. It’s so ferociously competitive, it takes years to develop something that is going to be a really marketable product. And I think there’s concern that if she doesn’t sort of fire the gun on this business really soon and with some really solid products, you know, interest will wane. The soft launch was so long ago; I really thought that we’d have seen more from American Riviera Orchard by now. It’s always a mouthful. So yeah, I think that’s the main issue with the wine. It just seems to be an added element to something that’s already taken quite a long time, and wine is such a difficult area to get right. I just don’t think she has the time to really finesse that.”
“Fair enough. And Bronte, staying with you, we understand the King has finally kicked off his summer holiday. Look, it’s been a rough year for the Monarch so far. What’s he up to, do we know?”
“Yeah, so of course, the Royals will head up to Scotland to Balmoral for this summer holiday. The King and the Queen have gone up there already. They’ll be joined by members of the family, including Kate and William and their kids, and other members like the King’s siblings. But look, this is their favorite place. This is all the Royals’ favorite place. The late Queen absolutely loved it there. I was actually at Balmoral Castle just early last week, and I can say I really get the appeal. It is the most beautiful area in the Scottish Highlands. And so it’s a really opportunity for them to just go up there, relax, take a break away from the public eye. It’s quite remote; they go hunting, they have barbecues, they just sort of hang out as a family, which is a very relatable thing, albeit in a castle. So yeah, that’s just kicked off and that will see them all out of the public eye for a few weeks. And never more than now have they needed that. It has been an unbelievably rocky few months. So, with Kate and the King both dealing with their cancer diagnosis, that time out, and particularly again, just away from the public eye and with a complete break, will be very, very useful.”
“And Angela, they are away on holidays, but there’s been some criticism about the Royal Family’s lack of enthusiasm for British Olympic success. Is there anything to this, or is it just a grumble?”
“It’s just a grumble. So, this 800-meter runner, Keely Hodgkinson, won a gold medal. The Brits haven’t won a gold medal in athletics since 2016. But you know what? Queen Camilla, she paid tribute to the equestrians. Princess Anne has paid tribute, and William and Kate to another sport. They don’t have to tick and make mention of every last Olympian. They’d become like a Hallmark card service, and it would dilute the actual messages that they do send out. So, I think it’s a bit mean-spirited to suggest. Also, as Bronte just said, they’re on holiday, and they’re allowed.”
“Correct. And Bronte, the Prince and Princess of Wales are also on holidays at the moment. But you know, everyone’s wondering what happens next. What do we know about Princess Katherine following the summer holiday?”
“That’s the big question. That is the big question because at the start of the year we went months without seeing her, understandably, as she dealt with her cancer diagnosis and treatment. We then, right before the summer break, started to get peeks of her again, you know, at Wimbledon and at the Trooping the Colour. It does look like she’s on a course where she is able to step out and partake in things now as she feels well, although she did stress that it will be on a case-by-case basis. So look, after another break and having that holiday with her family, I think we’ll see more of that. I think she will be taking part in public events where possible and in a safe environment and places that are comfortable for her and that the doctors have obviously approved. We will be getting the traditional back-to-school photo of the royal kids, which is always a bit of a thrill. It’s such a cute pick. Of course, in the UK, the kids start their school year in September, and Prince George would traditionally, as an 11-year-old, be going to secondary school. But because he goes to an independent prep school, he’ll be there for another two years, just FYI. But we can keep an eye out for that family photo, and I think that’ll be a really nice occasion. That school photo will be a lovely way to kick off the autumn.”
“And Angela, lastly, we understand the Queen is being honored with a new garden in London. Can you tell us about it?”
“That’s right, Caroline. It’s at Regent’s Park. It’s in honor of her, and it will be opened on what would have been her 100th birthday. I love this park; this is my favorite park in London. And as we all know, Kensington Gardens has a tribute park there to Diana. This one will be really beautiful. It’ll have lily of the valley, it’ll have royal tulips, it’s got a viewing platform. But the Queen loved gardening, and she used to walk around this area of her garden with her corgis. And what I love—one of my favorite stories about the Queen in her gardens was that she had the summerhouse, and in the summerhouse was a phone in case somebody needed to get hold of her. Not for her mobile phone; she had her own summerhouse with a landline in it if she needed to be spoken to when she was in her garden. So this will be a beautiful tribute to her, and I’m sure for a lot of people it will be the perfect place to go and remember her extraordinary reign and no doubt a must-visit place when in London.”
