Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Biggest Business Disasters Since Megxit — From Spotify Fallout to Netflix Drama and More

Life outside the royal family has not been entirely rosy for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

A few months after Meghan announced the launch of American Riviera Orchard, the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected the duchess' application due to inconsistencies in product categories and concerns about trademarking geographic locations.

The USPTO denied another application due to the brand's logo, particularly the O in its insignia as the "description is inconsistent with the mark on the drawing."

"Descriptions must be accurate and identify only those literal and design elements appearing in the mark," the response read, per the document shared by the Daily Mail. "In particular, the current mark description indicates that the letter 'O' appears in the mark. However, the letter is now clearly visible or highly stylized that it is unrecognizable as a letter. Furthermore, the description is incomplete because it does not describe all the elements in the mark."

It added, "The following description is suggested, if accurate: The mark consists of a double lined octagon enclosing the stylized and overlapping letters 'AR' and incorporating decorative and looping lines. The latter 'A' contains a stylized flower at the top of the letter."

In February 2025, Meghan officially rebranded American Riviera Orchard to As Ever in the wake of several trademark setbacks. However, reports claimed she failed to sign the trademark application documents before submitting them to the office.

She also planned to sell clothing under the lifestyle brand's new name, but the USPTO rejected her bid since there was already a Chinese clothing company named ASEVER.

In addition to As Ever's name, its logo faced complaints as it reportedly looked too similar to a town crest in Mallorca, Spain.

The chain of complications did not stop there, as a jam expert also called out her "runny" apricot spread.

"It's a real disappointment that Meghan is selling a fruit spread, which is what you make when your jam fails," Jelly Queens owner Donna Collins said. "In the jam industry a spread is what we call something that didn't work. It can have the best ingredients, but if I had a jam that was too runny, I'd slap a label on it and call it a spread. There's no excuse for this. It should be perfect."

The jam guru also condemned Meghan's use of "conventionally grown apricots, which will have used pesticides."

"And why is she using pectin, which is a gelling agent, unless it's because her spread was too runny? Most spreads don't use pectin," she questioned.

In August 2025, a source divulged to Rob Shuter's #ShuterScoop the brand was a "disaster" and had "no leadership, no direction, and no money."

"Vendors haven't been paid in months," the insider said, while a former consultant noted the company "blew millions on PR without securing supply chains."

A separate insider assumed Meghan's brand has been dealing with criticism because of her public image.

"Every misstep gets magnified," they pointed out.

As for the brand's status, another source said, "This isn't just rocky. It's already sinking."

According to a December 2025 Daily Mail report, Prince Harry and Meghan's Archewell Foundation — which they renamed Archewell Philanthropies — dismissed several staff members, including program and operations director Kristen Slevin, amid financial struggles.

A representative for the couple denied the claims: "Currently, the same full team remains in place."

After the alleged firing of team members, OK! learned the royals' senior publicist, Meredith Maines, decided to leave her post as the chief communications officer after less than a year in service.

"After a year of inspiring work with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Archewell, I will be pursuing a new opportunity in 2026," she said in a statement to Us Weekly. "I have the utmost gratitude and respect for the couple and the team, and the good work they are doing in the world."

On December 29, 2025, Archewell's Executive Director James Holt announced his own exit.

"From my first project with Prince Harry eight years ago to improve mental health support for soldiers in the British military, to our recent work helping injured children in Gaza, he has consistently challenged me to think bigger about how we can make a difference," he told People in a statement. "From the moment I met Meghan, I recognized a kindred spirit — someone who finds joy even in difficult moments and connects authentically with people regardless of circumstance. Above everything else, the work we've done together to support families affected by online harm will remain the most meaningful of my professional life. These families are extraordinary, and they inspire me every day."

He added, "After five incredible years in Los Angeles, it's time for my family to return to London. When I pass the baton to the team leading Archewell Philanthropies in the coming months, I'll do so with immense pride and optimism for what lies ahead. I'll miss my colleagues deeply, and I'm grateful to Harry and Meghan for everything they've done — for me, and for the countless people we've worked to support."

Prince Harry and Meghan secured their first major business venture in September 2020 when they signed a $100 million multi-year deal with Netflix to produce several projects. They have released documentaries through Archewell Productions, but the planned adaptations of Carley Fortune's book "Meet Me at the Lake" and Jasmine Guillory's novel "The Wedding Date" both languished in development without a director or cast.

In January, Prince Harry and Meghan's documentary "Cookie Queen" debuted at the Sundance Film Festival to a lukewarm reception, with around 60 empty seats. A source said the high cost of tickets may have kept potential viewers away.

In a surprising move, the streaming giant announced it was ending its partnership with Meghan's As Ever brand, putting pending projects in limbo.

"Meghan's passion for elevating everyday moments in beautiful yet simple ways inspired the creation of the As ever brand, and we are glad to have played a role in bringing that vision to life," a spokesperson for Netflix said on March 6. "As it was always intended, Meghan will continue growing the brand and take it into its next chapter independently, and we look forward to celebrating how she continues to bring joy to households around the world."

Meanwhile, a representative for As Ever said the brand "is now ready to stand on its own. We have an exciting year ahead and can't wait to share more."

More than a year after securing a deal with Spotify in December 2020, Meghan released her "Archetypes" podcast, which ran for only 12 episodes.

"The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify," a spokesperson for WME told the Wall Street Journal in June 2023. "Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform."

On the other hand, Spotify founder Daniel Ek hinted that the podcast was canceled after failing to make consumers happy during its run.

Published in June 2021, Meghan's children's book, The Bench, fell short of entering the U.K. Official Top 50 chart during its debut week after only selling around 3,000 copies.

It eventually made it to No. 100 on the Amazon U.S. bestsellers, though it stagnated over the long term.

On August 26, 2025, Netflix released the second season of Meghan's lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan. The show reportedly drew 500,000 fewer viewers than it did in its debut season, which premiered in March that year.

After the disappointing performance, multiple sources told a news outlet the series will not be returning to Netflix.

"It's not returning as a series. There have been conversations about holiday specials, but there's nothing in the works yet," said one insider.