Meghan Markle's Lifestyle Brand Launch Amid Kate Middleton's Photoshop Fiasco Draws Scrutiny

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, recently launched her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, which will see her selling jams and kitchenware.

However, Meghan's new business venture, which features a royal crest and the Duchess' calligraphy, seemingly raised eyebrows as its announcement coincided with Prince William's speech at a memorial held in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana.

The former actress' announcement also comes at a time when the Princess of Wales is facing backlash for "editing" her Mother's Day photo.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made big announcements that coincided with Prince William's speech at a memorial in honor of the late Princess Diana.

According to the Daily Mail, William and Harry were scheduled to appear at the Diana Legacy Awards at the Science Museum in London.

The Prince of Wales attended the event in person and reportedly left around 8:15 pm UK time, while Harry was supposed to appear virtually from Montecito. However, late into the night, the Duke's address had seemingly not taken place as he and the Duchess were miles across the Atlantic attending to other matters.

"The Sussexes, in my opinion, do nothing by accident, and timing is often absolutely pivotal," Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliam said of Harry and Meghan's actions.

He continued, "We found that out one way over the weekend, and we've now just been reminded that there may be more shots in their locker than some of us thought. And it's no accident."

Fitzwilliam added that the couple had been "unpredictable" before now but have been "predictable" when it comes to the "unerring timing when they believe it's beneficial to get information out," adding that "they don't do anything by accident."

The fact that the duo's announcement came during a period when the Princess of Wales is facing heavy criticism for her Photoshopped Mother's Day image has also raised eyebrows.

The Sussexes raised eyebrows when they used the night of Diana's memorial to make two announcements.

Firstly, the "Suits" actress had earlier announced the launch of her lifestyle brand via a glitzy Instagram video. The brand is said to have been in the works for some time and will feature "all the things that are close to her heart."

According to the Daily Mail, Meghan has filed a trademark application covering cutlery, cookbooks, coffee, jams, jellies, and butter. The application also extends to a physical shop, where tableware, mugs, tablecloths, and recipe books could be sold.

Following William's speech, the Sussexes released another video to congratulate Dr. Joy Buolamwini, winner of this year's NAACP-Archewell Foundation "Digital Civil Rights" Award.

The footage saw Buolamwini gush over the couple's surprise as Meghan lauded her for being "an expert and inspiration," with Harry noting that she is one of the world's most "inspiring, passionate and impactful figures in AI."

According to the news outlet, a royal commentator weighed in on the strained relationship between the brothers.

Although Harry later joined a video call with the winners of the Diana Legacy Awards after William left the event, Ingrid Seward said that Princess Diana would have insisted they dropped their feud aside to present the award in her honor.

"And if she failed, I think she would have insisted that they came together, however briefly, by speaking over the video link in order to celebrate the winners of the prize organized in her name," Seward added.

The pair had previously made joint appearances at the award ceremony. Their continuous failure to acknowledge each other shows the degree to which their relationship has worsened over the years.

It all comes after Kate caused an uproar with a family photo that turned out to have been "heavily edited."

To mark the British Mother's Day celebration, Kensington Palace released a picture of Kate and her kids. The princess has been MIA since undergoing abdominal surgery in January, and the adorable image was meant to help quell rumors about her whereabouts.

Due to a "manipulation" of the photo, major news agencies, including Reuters and AP, subsequently released a memo for outlets to "kill" its publication.

Kate then accepted she was to blame, noting in a social media post that "like many amateur photographers," she occasionally "experiments with editing."

"I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day. C," she added on X (formerly Twitter).

The Princess of Wales's decision to apologize didn't sit well with Richard Eden, a columnist for the Daily Mail, who said on "Palace Confidential" that Kate was "thrown under a bus" and William's demeanor was "ungentlemanly" and "disgraceful."

He recently added that the couple's "handsomely paid" communication expert, Lee Thompson, and whoever "handles the camera" should have taken the blame.

"To me, it seems that he and other senior officials appear keener to avoid sullying their own reputations than protecting our future queen as she recovers from major surgery," Eden noted.

"Even if we accept that Catherine did alter the photograph when it was handed to her officials, who had no doubt been encouraging her to share such a happy picture, they should have examined it closely," the royal expert added.

Eden concluded, "In his senior position, Thompson would have known that media organizations are increasingly concerned about digital manipulation of images. British newspapers won't run news photographs that have been altered in this way."