Princess Kate Advising Meghan Markle on American Riviera Orchard

Palace sources have revealed Princess Catherine is secretly advising the Duchess of Sussex on the latter's latest venture, American Riviera Orchard.

Before she married Prince William in 2011, Kate Middleton was a successful accessories buyer for upmarket fashion retailer, Jigsaw.

She famously asked her boss if she could work part-time for three days a week as she needed a job, "but it needs to be part-time so [she could] work it around [her] relationship with this very high profile man."

Both women are noted for their style and panache. Meghan Markle had previously run her successful lifestyle blog, The Tig which she shut down in April 2017 once she started dating Prince Harry.

Princess Catherine is advising Meghan Markle to launch her website ahead of the Northern summer so she builds up a strong customer base in time for the busy Christmas season and that she plans a series of blog posts, reels, and special offers.

With summer officially starting in June, Meghan has less than two months to finalise all suppliers, email marketing programs, social media, fulfillment and administrative staff.

Meghan Markle told Kate Middleton that she was disappointed she had been forced to abandon the Sussex Royal business in which she and Prince Harry had trademarked hundreds of items including socks, pyjamas, greeting cards, calendars, and notebooks in June 2019. The Queen banned them from using the word "royal" after the couple surprised the world by deciding to step down as working royals in January 2020.

The retail industry expects to see products ranging from bird seed to yoga mats for sale on American Riviera Orchard.

The Duchess hopes with Kate Middleton's advice, this time she can navigate the choppy waters of online retail more successfully.

Princess Catherine has also given Meghan Markle a list of potential suppliers on Aliexpress, Temu and Facebook Marketplace.

APRIL FOOL!