“Sussex Royal” out. “Archewell” in.
The branding drama started last April on Instagram, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched their massively popular @SussexRoyal account, followed by their charity foundation of the same name. Then came a UK trademark application for “Sussex Royal” over the summer, followed by an international application in December … and an announcement that the pair would be stepping down from the royal family. As they sought trademark protection for everything from shirts and bandanas to “health and wellness training,” some accused them of seeking to profit off the royal family while simultaneously leaving it, while others said they were simply doing it to protect themselves from hoards of imposter goods. (Regardless, the British tabloid press ate it up.)
And then the Queen reportedly put the kibosh on Sussex Royal, and in February Harry and Meghan released a statement that they would no longer use the name.
With their royal duties wrapped up as of March 31, the pair have now announced a new umbrella brand: Archewell. As they said in a statement to The Telegraph, “Before Sussex Royal came the idea of ‘Arche’—the Greek word meaning ‘source of action.’ We connected to this concept for the charitable organization we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name [Archie Mountbatten-Windsor]. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters. Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.”
To go a bit further down the rabbit hole, as the reporters over at The World Trademark Review note, “Interestingly, a trademark application was filed for the term ARCHEWAY a few days prior, but that application is now abandoned—suggesting the couple originally sought to move forward with the brand name ‘Archeway’ but subsequently changed it to ‘Archewell.’ Nonetheless, today’s announcement will almost definitely lead to third-party trademark applications related to Archewell in the days and weeks ahead.”
While we would have loved a logo to accompany the announcement, we’ll have to make do with the name and some trademark drama for now (and the Sussex Royal logo above). We’ll update with the new image when it’s released.