Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have seen several big changes to their team of staff recently with the big launch of American Riviera Orchard on the horizon as well as their two new Netflix shows in production
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had a huge shake-up of staff – and their team now includes a UK hire.
The Sussexes appear to have had a relatively high turnover of staff in recent years since dramatically quitting their royal roles and setting up their Archewell Foundation. When they quit the UK, they did not retain any staff in the country and instead based their newly-formed team in California. However, now it appears they are keen to have a presence in Harry’s home country and have reportedly hired a UK brand manager to represent them in Britain and Europe.
According to The Telegraph, the couple has hired Charlie Gipson, a PR executive, who will act as their main point of contact for UK and European media. The 41-year-old has previously worked for brands including Haribo, Pedigree, Mars and Cadbury. According to the publication, he has recently removed much of his personal history from social media. Meanwhile, he is not the only new hire. According to PEOPLE, he will be joined by Kyle Boulia, who will be the couple’s new deputy press secretary based in Los Angeles. He will be the point of contact for US media.
Reports that Harry and Meghan were keen for PR representation in the UK surfaced last month, just before the soft launch of the duchess’s new brand American Riviera Orchard. Meghan announced her new business venture with an Instagram teaser video posted to the new American Riviera Orchard Instagram account last month which showed the duchess cooking and arranging white hydrangeas and roses.
The brief vintage-style footage was set to Nancy Wilson’s I Wish You Love and closed with the brand’s logo, American Riviera Orchard, written in fine gold script above the word Montecito – a celebrity enclave near Santa Barbara in California where the duke and duchess live.
Little information has been released about Meghan’s new project but a trademark application filed in February shows the company wishes to offer downloadable and printed recipe books, table wear, textiles, and jams and marmalades, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.
However, over the past week, Meghan has launched the first product from her new business venture – a jar of strawberry jam. She appears to have sent her friends a limited edition jar of the sweet treat, ahead of her brand American Riviera Orchard formally bringing out a range of items.
Fashion designer Tracy Robbins posted two images of the jam jar, which the duchess sent nestled in a basket of lemons. Her jar was numbered ’17 of 50′ and she posted an image of the gift on her Instagram account with the words “Breakfast, lunch and dinner just got a little sweeter”.
Another picture had the caption “Thank you for the delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so not sure I’m sharing with anyone.” Others to receive jars include fellow Suits star Abigail Spencer and Delfina Blaquier, the wife of Harry’s close polo playing pal, Nacho Figueras.
