Meghan Markle “will be kicking herself” that the soft launch of American Riviera Orchard was so close to Kate Middleton’s cancer announcement, a royal expert claims.

The Duchess of Sussex launched her long-awaited lifestyle brand – thought to be The Tig 2.0, a reimagining of her now-defunct lifestyle blog that she shut down in 2017 as she prepared to marry Prince Harry – on March 14. Appearing in a promotional video posted to Instagram, Meghan baked in her kitchen and tended to her dog in a ballgown with the backdrop of her sprawling Montecito mansion. Media outlets around the world couldn’t get enough and clamoured to report details of the new brand from the stylish Duchess.

Just a week later Princess Kate announced in a video message that she is being treated for cancer. In an emotional and heartfelt televised statement to the world confirming her diagnosis, Kate spoke of “an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family”. The news agenda quickly shifted to Kate’s brave decision to go public with her health battle, and the Princess of Wales has dominated the news agenda since.

And now a royal expert claims Meghan is changing tact behind the scenes. “Meghan will be kicking herself that the announcement of her new brand came so close to the announcement of Kate’s illness – she can’t complain about it, but once again she is in her sister-in-law’s shadow,” royal expert and author Tom Quinn exclusively tells us.

Meghan Markle is thought to be changing tact behind the scenes ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
“Meghan will be trying to find a way to continue with her new brand, but in a less full-on manner than she might’ve attempted had Kate not announced her illness – we will see less of Harry too as the brand launches because he is a reminder that all is not well in the couple’s relationship with Kate and King Charles at such a difficult time.

“People will be increasingly shocked that Meghan doesn’t show us all that she can be the bigger person and forget about the past, come back to the UK with her family and show some support. When your sister-in-law and your father-in-law both have cancer, you do nothing it is not a good look, especially for someone like Meghan who has made caring and sharing her stock in trade. In the past, she’s always portrayed herself as able to be the bigger person, but this time she just can’t do it, and she’s worried that this will look bad for her.”