By Emma Mackenzie
When Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex launched her new venture - American Riviera Orchard - she quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. Whilst there haven't been tonnes of information released about this new chapter, trademarks filed indicate that the Duchess may be intending to sell physical products - with items like nut butter, pet food, yoga mats, textiles, and tableware all covered by the paperwork.
The new launch shows that Meghan is, in a way, going back to her roots by working in the lifestyle space: while she was an actor on the hit TV show Suits, she ran a highly successful blog in this area called The Tig. Now defunct - it was closed down just months before her engagement to Prince Harry was announced - the blog was filled with articles and posts on Meghan's go-to travel tips, wellness practices, and candid revelations about her pre- royal life.
One of these more candid moments also became one of Meghan's most popular posts on The Tig and saw the actress and philanthropist break down how her upbringing had allowed her to occupy the two starkly different worlds of the entertainment industry and activism.
Meghan explained in the post that neither of her parents had come from wealth, and they were both unafraid of hard work because of that - something that influenced her as a child and an adult. However, her father Thomas, and her mother Doria had chosen very different career paths - with Thomas working as a lighting director and Doria as a clinical therapist.
Being inducted into these two worlds as a child, with their many contradictions, helped Meghan keep "a foot in two contrasting worlds – one in the entertainment industry, predicated on wealth and indulgence, and the other in humanitarian work."
"Despite the contrast of my two worlds growing up, there was a powerful commonality: both my parents came from little, so they made a choice to give a lot – buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to patients in hospice care, donating any spare change in their pocket to those asking for it, and performing quiet acts of grace – be it a hug, a smile, or a pat on the back to show ones in need that they would be alright. This is what I grew up seeing, so that is what I grew up being," she explained.
This allowed Meghan to embark on both careers of activism and acting: "While my life shifts from refugee camps to red carpets," she wrote, "I choose them both because these worlds can, in fact, coexist. And for me, they must.
"My eleven-year-old self would be proud, because while I may not have realized it at the time, I, in fact, have always had a foot in the world of entertainment as well as the world of public service; my life now is simply a more heightened version of the very reality in which I grew up. And, truth be told, it’s the most beautiful gift I never knew I always had".
Do you have a story to tell? Email: emma.mackenzie@reachplc.com