Meghan Markle Has 'Absolutely No Plans' to Relaunch The Tig Despite Renewing Trademark: Source
Meghan Markle won’t be returning to her lifestyle guru days anytime soon.
The Duchess of Sussex’s business manager Andrew Meyer recently filed documents in the United States for Meghan to keep the rights for her now-defunct lifestyle site The Tig until 2021, prompting speculation that the royal may be relaunching it. (A website named Tigtots was also trademarked, with some speculating that the new mom may be creating a spin-off based on motherhood.)
However, a palace spokesperson tells PEOPLE that there are “absolutely no plans to relaunch The Tig.”
“The lasting trademark is to prevent false branding, to avoid others purporting to be the Duchess or affiliated with her,” the spokesperson says.
The former Suits star started The Tig in 2014 as a place to share her favorite food and travel discoveries, along with personal reflections. (The name was inspired by the Italian wine Tignanello.) In 2017, Meghan announced that she was shutting down her “little engine that could” as her relationship with Prince Harry developed.
“After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it’s time to say goodbye to The Tig,” she wrote at the time. “What began as a passion project (my little engine that could) evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity. You’ve made my days brighter and filled this experience with so much joy. Keep finding those Tig moments of discovery, keep laughing and taking risks, and keep being ‘the change you wish to see in the world.’ Above all, don’t ever forget your worth – as I’ve told you time and time again: you, my sweet friend, you are enough. Thank you for everything.”
She signed the note with an “xx” to her supporters.
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Meghan, 38, stepped out last week for her first solo engagement since welcoming son Archie, the launch of her capsule collection benefiting her patronage, Smart Works. For every item bought during the two-week online and in-store sale of the collection, one will be donated to Smart Works — allowing customers to help empower and support other women and play a part in their success story.
“When I first moved to the U.K, it was incredibly important to me personally to be able to connect with people on the ground who were doing really important work. One of the places that I went to really early on was Smart Works,” Meghan said at Thursday’s event.
“To be able to have one small project that has such big impact is something I’m really connected to,” she added. “This is the kind of work that I’ve been doing for a really long time and to be able to do it here in my new home of the U.K. means quite a bit to me. It’s also the same vein of work that my husband and I will continue doing, really strong community-based projects. And this is something we’ll be excited to share more about next year when we launch our foundation, Sussex Royal, in 2020.”
