People: Duchess Meghan will launch American Riviera Orchard ‘later this year’

There’s a surprising amount of positive coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week. Is this a post-Colombian-tour bounce? Is this the American media finally coming to their senses and understanding that they don’t have to follow the British media’s slanderous, vile lead? Or is this the result of a new, more open communications strategy from Archewell? I think it’s a combination of everything. In any case, Meghan has heard our whining about wanting to buy some American Riviera Orchard jam with magical monarchy-destroying properties. She’s also heard all of the British media’s snide commentary about her “CEO hunt” and her Netflix show. So People Magazine had some housekeeping on everything:

Meghan Markle is gearing up for the launch of her new lifestyle brand. A source tells PEOPLE that the Duchess of Sussex has been busy working behind the scenes to prepare for the launch of American Riviera Orchard, slated for later this year.

The source also dismisses claims that Meghan, 42, has been struggling to find a CEO for her brand, leading to delays in its launch, clarifying that these reports are untrue.

An insider previously told PEOPLE that Meghan’s new venture “will reflect everything that she loves — family, cooking, entertaining and home décor.”

The insider added that the Duchess of Sussex “is excited about her latest, personal venture.”

“This is something she’s been wanting to do for a while. She is excited to share her style and things that she loves,” they added.

Potentially further expanding her lifestyle empire, American Riviera Orchard could align with a cooking show set for release by Netflix that is being curated and executive produced by Meghan. The series will “celebrate the joys of cooking and gardening, entertaining and friendship” and is directed by Michael Steed, who worked on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. The as-of-yet untitled series’ showrunner is Leah Hariton, who was a producer on Selena Gomez’s Selena Chef cooking show on HBO.

[From People]

If it happens, then it’s much smarter to launch ARO by the end of the year – Sussex Squad peeps will want to buy ARO stuff for Christmas gifts and, generally speaking, people simply buy and consume more in November and December. There’s been a lot of talk about the Netflix series and ARO launching together – while that might happen, it’s sounding more like ARO will launch by December and the Netflix show will stream early next year? That’s just my vibe from most of the gossip/reporting. I’m also curious about the CEO issue. It’s more than possible that Meghan has already assembled her ARO team and the British media simply hasn’t figured out their identities yet. Interesting.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Archewell.