Somehow I don’t think Bob Dylan would approve of his most famous lyrics being co-opted for a royal story so everyone just hum it under your breath, because something is a-changin’ in the environs of Montecito.
Oh I’m sure the ocean breezes are as warm as ever, the gardens as lush, and the double shot oat lattes as oddly gritty but does anyone notice anything about Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex?
Namely, where has she gone?
Oh, so far this year there have been photos of the duchess in Canada, supporting Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games and at the polo, supporting Harry, and in Jamaica for the Bob Marley biopic premiere, with Harry, and in Nigeria for a quickie we-made-it-ourselves tour, supporting Harry and Invictus, but that does not exactly answer our question.
Aside from co-hosting a panel at the SXSW Festival in early March the duchess has not undertaken a single solo outing and three months on from the Instagram ta-da bells-and-whistles unveiling of her American Riviera Orchard (ARO) brand the world remains entirely in the dark about what it might actually sell, do, or make.
So what quite has been afoot behind the high, high impeccably-trimmed hedges of the 93108 postcode?
For one thing, some production assistants are probably right this very minute enjoying a play of Meghan’s huevos rancheros while the lighting is reset during the shoot for her forthcoming lifestyle show. In April it was announced that the mother-of-two was ‘curating’ a series that “celebrates the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship”.
Days later in April, the Daily Mail, clearly aiming for the investigative Pulitzer this year, got the paperwork for the show’s shoot, revealing that crews were set to film the show from April until 25 June at property that is several kilometres from the Sussexes’ actual $20 million home.
While no date has been set for the untitled show’s release, it would make sense if the streamer wanted it out there in time for the mass entertaining event that is the US holiday season and all of its ridiculous carved gourds and gloopy, sweet-potato-heavy side dishes.
(Harry, for his part in proceedings and to keep the lovely lucre coming, is making a horsey series about the world of polo. Anything that puts more strapping thighs in muddy breaches on our screens is a win in my book.)
Also in the total dearth of details department we have ARO.
On 15 March, the Duchess of Sussex launched the brand out onto the world with an Instagram account and a 15-second video of her cooking in a charmingly rustic kitchen and wafting across an outdoor passageway in a ballgown. Then, a month later, 50 select intimates of hers received hand numbered jars of ARO strawberry jam, only some of which found their way onto social media.
Not a peep, a sound or a squeak has been heard about ARO since.
However, don’t let the current silence fool you. Clearly we are on the brink of a new phase in Meghan’s career unfolding and all will be revealed and available for express shipping at checkout.
The question here is not about her taste — because boy does the duchess have it in absolute spades. Instead, it’s about how much is riding on this reimagining of Brand Meghan.
Over the years the duchess has proven to be incredibly adept at the metamorphosis: In the last two decades she has gone from interning at the US embassy in Buenos Aires to jobbing actress to wedding calligrapher to game show briefcase girl to Suits star to blogger to global voice for girls and womens’ rights to wedded duchess to working member of the royal family to conscious palace objector to children’s book author to podcaster to documentary slash reality show participant to rom-com producer to nascent lifestyle influencer and possibly mogul.
(Last year it was revealed that Netflix had bought the rights to the novel Meet Me At The Lake so the Sussexes’ could try their hands at making some nice scripted content.)
Meghan is, unimpeachably, highly intelligent, creative and is not afraid of boldly reinventing herself. But the weight and pressure on this current professional rebirth would have to be huge. Harry, who seems happy as cliched clam doing his Invicuts work, is not exactly trying anything bold and new to bring home the ethically-raised bacon.
Reports suggest that the duke and duchess’ Netflix contract will run out next year meaning that her ‘curated’ lifestyle show and his pony fare (along with Lake) are their last shots at really establishing themselves as sure-fire bankable commodities in Hollywood.
In April last year it was announced that she had signed on with Hollywood uber agent Ari Emmanuel, the Rolls Royce of men who yell down phones to make deals happen, however a year on, it is impossible to point to anything concrete that has transpired out of this relationship.
Aside from signing on with podcasting company Lemonada Media in February, Meghan has yet to announce any new partnerships or commercial dealings.
In 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might have found their West Coast freedom but they also found, to quote Destiny’s Child, bills, bills, bills. Their enviable lifestyle is one they must also now actually pay for, along with the estimated $4.5 million security costs they face.
They parted ways with Spotify nearly a year ago this week with the couple having managed to make only one series in two-and-a-half years with Meghan solely responsible for that.
Earlier this year the Daily Mail’s Allison Boshoff reported that the fee the Sussexes were actually paid for Harry & Meghan was “never the huge payday that the press reported” and was actually about $22.5 million.
What remains to be seen is whether the couple can, now that their anti-palace content-making years appear to be behind them, build a steady income stream off their own creative bat.
Their non-royal TV efforts have proven what could most euphemistically be termed, patchy. The duke’s Heart of Invictus, while stunningly shot and unbelievably moving, only managed 300,000 views. Live to Lead, a series shot in part before they had even left the UK, did 800,000 streams.
So you see, it all comes down to Meghan and her ability to charm viewers by demonstrating the best way to make buttercream icing and her innate napkin-folding nous.
And you know what, of everything the Sussexes have done, this is the project that I think could really take off like a cheesy, proverbial rocket ship. The duchess has style and can clearly cook and if she pitches this as less Suzy-homemaker and more rosé-sipping, Goop-y, cashmere throw, then I can see audiences tuning in in droves. (And Netlfix rubbing their hands.)
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There’s an interesting bit of symmetry here. The survival of the monarchy has traditionally rested on women willing to forfeit their independence and autonomy for VVVVIP access to the Chelsea Flower Show. And now the commercial survival of the Sussexes, Harry’s horsey contribution aside, could come to rest on Meghan’s shoulders.
Bring on the buttercream years, I say. I’m all in.
Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.
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2024-06-14 05:23:47Z
CBMiiAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50L2NlbGVicml0eS1saWZlL3JveWFscy9tZWdoYW4tZGV0YWlsLW5vYm9keS1oYXMtbm90aWNlZC9uZXdzLXN0b3J5LzYzOTZkZTE1OTkwYTdiYzFiYmFmODg0Y2YzNWJlMzNh0gEA
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