Full list of Meghan Markle's business ventures since quitting Royal Family

Meghan Markle's new lifestyle brand is set to launch this spring but it is not the first business move of the duchess.

The Duchess of Sussex along with her husband, Prince Harry, have made their own life away from Britain after they stepped down as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to the US.

Even though Harry and Meghan did receive a "substantial sum to support them" during the first quarter of 2020, their aim was to be "financially independent" from their Firm in their new life in America.

The couple signed a number of deals with various companies since then, with Meghan branching out to different areas when it come to business.

Here, the Express takes a look at all of Meghan's business ventures since quitting the Firm.

Archewell

The Sussexes's first project, and their main one, after stepping down as working royals was their non-profit organisation Archewell, announced in April 2020.

At the time, the couple said in a statement to the Telegraph: "Like you, our focus is on supporting efforts to tackle the global Covid-19 pandemic but faced with this information coming to light, we felt compelled to share the story of how this came to be.

"Before SussexRoyal, came the idea of ‘Arche’ - the Greek word meaning ‘source of action’.

"We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters.

"Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right."

"We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son's name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters. Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right."

According to the charity's website, its mission is "simple: show up, do good".

Netflix deal

Shortly after, in September 2020, the Sussexes struck a lucrative deal with streaming giant Netflix. Although the figure was never confirmed, it was reported at the time the deal could be worth around £80million.

Harry and Meghan have so far released four projects on Netflix, with the duchess's lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, set to air on March 4.

Their fourth one was Prince Harry's POLO, which was released last December.

It followed the couple's Heart Of Invictus series, released in 2023, which came after Live to Lead and the Sussexes's bombshell docuseries, Harry & Meghan in 2022.

Spotify deal

Two months later after the Netflix deal was announced, it emerged Harry and Meghan had signed a deal with Spotify reportedly worth £18million. However, the couple only produced one show, Archetypes - a podcast hosted by Meghan.

In it, Meghan interviews various celebrities including Mariah Carey, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams and others.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's deal was "mutually" ended in June 2023 after sources claimed there was not enough content produced to warrant the full payout.

Meanwhile, top Spotify podcast executive Bill Simmons made headlines when he blasted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after the couple's reported lack of material.

He described the couple as "f****** grifters", an Americanism for swindlers.

Mr Simmons said: "The f****** grifters. That's the podcast we should have launched with them.

"I've got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It's one of my best stories."

The Bench - a children's book

In 2021, the duchess wrote a children's book called The Bench after being inspired by Prince Harry’s relationship with their son, Prince Archie.

The book celebrates the relationship of a father and son through the eyes of the mother.

Meghan wrote the book and also narrated its audiobook, but it received mixed reviews from critics.

Investments

The Duchess has also invested in various companies close to her heart.

In 2023, Meghan made a cameo in a social media commercial for Clevr Blends, which was shared on social media.

Clevr Blends is a vegan coffee brand that makes coffees packed with probiotics, superfoods and adaptogens.

Meghan has also invested in asset manager Ethic, which focuses on sustainable investments.

In an interview with The New York Times’ Dealbook, she said: "From the world I come from, you don’t talk about investing, right? You don’t have the luxury to invest. That sounds so fancy.

"My husband has been saying for years, 'Gosh, don't you wish there was a place where if your values were aligned like this, you could put your money to that same sort of thing?'"

Last year, it was revealed that the duchess has invested in two other brands, luxury fashion brand Cesta Collective and haircare line Highbrow Hippie.

American Riviera Orchard/As Ever

Meghan's biggest business venture yet is her lifestyle brand, now renamed As Ever.

Last year in March, the duchess soft-launched American Riviera Orchard (ARO) when she landed an Instagram page for it with the same handle, which linked to a website and only had the duchess's logo on it.

But after a series of setbacks regarding its trademark, the duchess announced this week that her new brand will be called As Ever.

In a video announcing the big news, Meghan said: "This new chapter is an extension of what has always been my love language, beautifully weaving together everything I cherish — food, gardening, entertaining, thoughtful living, and finding joy in the everyday."

Meghan joked about the first product released by her business last year, a limited edition jar of strawberry jam, saying: "Of course there will be fruit preserves, I think we're all clear at this point that jam is my jam.

"But there's so many more products that I just love that I use in my home and now it's time to share it with you, so I can't wait for you to see it."