Meghan's "New Chapter" Is About Sparkling Wine, Not a Sussex Return to Royal Life

Two days after news broke that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are returning to the UK, Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand sent subscribers a newsletter headlined "A new chapter to celebrate." The phrase lit up social media, where plenty of readers assumed it referred to the family's planned move back to Britain this month. It did not.

The "new chapter" in question is the arrival of As Ever's Napa Valley Reserve Brut sparkling wine, scheduled to go on sale on 3 September. The newsletter was promoting a product launch, not commenting on a relocation (Hello!).

The timing was the kind of coincidence that social media thrives on. On 20 August, Reuters, NPR and the New York Times reported that Prince Harry and Meghan had confirmed they will return to the United Kingdom in August 2026, bringing their two children with them (Reuters; NPR; New York Times). The Associated Press added detail the following day: Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have been enrolled in British schools and will start in September, having begun their education in the United States (AP).

The return does not come with a return to royal duties. Harry and Meghan will remain non-working royals — the status agreed with the late Queen Elizabeth II when the couple stepped back from the institution in 2020 (Reuters). They will not live in a royal residence (Reuters).

As Ever, the brand behind the sparkling-wine newsletter, launched at the start of 2025 after being rebranded from its original name, American Riviera Orchard. The brand was initially linked to Meghan's Netflix series With Love, Meghan, with the streaming platform as its financial backer (Hello!).

So the Duchess has not, in fact, publicly commented on the UK move. What she has done is promote a sparkling wine. The two stories — a family relocation across the Atlantic and a beverage arriving on shelves in early September — simply collided in the same week.

For anyone tracking the Sussexes' commercial ventures alongside their personal arrangements, that collision is worth noting. The brand continues to operate on its own schedule, and the household continues to make its announcements through the channels it has chosen: a newsletter for the wine, wire-service reporting for the move.