Meghan Markle has been criticised for her timing as she appears to release the debut product for her new luxury lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard with a small run of handmade strawberry jam

The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle has been slammed as a “grifter” and “shameless” for releasing her debut product from her new lifestyle brand after recent royal family health news.

Meghan first announced her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard on March 14, which quickly grew an online following on Instagram. However, for over a month, there have been no further announcements. Now, the first potential product has been revealed. Friends of the Duchess have received handmade pots of strawberry jam, hinting that this could be the first release from the luxury lifestyle brand.

Friends of the former Suits actress have shown they’ve been sent a jar of homemade strawberry jam as they shared the debut product on social media on Monday. Those receiving the limited edition samples have shared them to social media, showing the small jars with handwritten labels featuring the American Riviera Orchard logo and ‘Montecito’ underneath, as well as the words numbering which jar it is out of 50, indicating the batch of jam is a small production run.

The handmade strawberry jam by the Duchess has been debuted on social media by her friends (Image: @mrstracyrobbins/Instagram)

The handmade jam has a label featuring the American Riviera Orchard logo as well as the words numbering which jar it is out of 50 (Image: @mrstracyrobbins/Instagram)

However, some criticism for the Duchess’ new venture have come in as they slammed her decision to launch when members of the royal family have recently spoken out about their health and are facing cancer treatment. Earlier this year King Charles and the Princess of Wales both revealed they have been diagnosed with cancer and are undergoing treatment.

As a result, comments around Meghan’s timing for her brand launch have seen the mother of two labelled a “grifter” and “shameless” for “using her title” to make money. One person wrote on X: “Meghan Markle unveils her first American Riviera Orchard Does anyone really care about what this grifter pushes?” Another shared their view as they posted: “Meghan Markle is shameless. And it’s absolutely no coincidence that this gets publicized just as the world processes the weight and implications of the cancer diagnoses for King Charles and the Princess of Wales. This is calculated leech behavior by the Duchess of Montecito.”

The new launch could also spell trouble for Meghan and Harry as they consider a potential resolution with the royal family. The couple, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020, have made controversial comments in interviews and their Netflix series which has seen their relationship with the royal family strained and tense.