Meghan Markle. Photo:
Meghan Markle/Instagram
It was a night to remember for Meghan Markle and some of her longtime followers in New York City.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, celebrated her Netflix show With Love, Meghan on March 3, the eve of its premiere, by making a surprise appearance at a screening of the series. The event was held for a special group of Meghan’s fans: those who have followed her since the days of her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig.
Meghan Markle meets Tig fans. Meghan Markle/Instagram
Meghan started The Tig in 2014 as a place to share her favorite food and travel discoveries, along with personal reflections. In 2017, Meghan announced that she was shutting down her “little engine that could” as her relationship with Prince Harry progressed.
“A surprise in the Big Apple tonight,” Meghan wrote over an Instagram Stories video of herself about to walk into a theater.
“They don’t know I’m coming,” she said in the clip moments before the big reveal.
Once inside, the Duchess had a simple question as the girls gasped at her arrival: “What’d you guys think?”
The videos that followed showed the former actress greeting her supporters as they showed a surprise of their own — real tattoos that read “As ever.”
As Ever tattoos; Tignanello wine. Meghan Markle/Instagram
There was also a bottle of Tignanello wine, which inspired the Tig name, for the special occasion.
To celebrate the successful surprise, Prince Harry and Meghan’s kids made her a special handwritten card and a bouquet.
“Congratulations mumma! We love your show, and we love you!” was the heartfelt note signed by “Lili, Archie [and] Papa.”
Meghan Markle receives card from her kids and Harry. Meghan Markle/Instagram
With Love, Meghan is a natural extension of The Tig. The series features Meghan cooking, crafting and exploring “practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old.”
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Meghan reflected on how some former Tig fans have affectionately dubbed her new series “Tig TV” — a sentiment she “so sweet.”
“But it’s always been there,” she says. “And I just love now that people do get to see it. This is who I’ve always been. It’s just been really fun. I think that’s the piece that perhaps in the past few years, without being able to share in the same way, I don’t know if maybe people had a sense of how much fun we have.”
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex photographed in Montecito, CA, in March 2024.
Celebrity guests on the Netflix show include her former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, actress and producer Mindy Kaling, Korean-American chef Roy Choi, Taiwanese-American businesswoman Vicky Tsai, and American chef Alice Waters. There is also an appearance from her husband, Prince Harry.
Meghan postponed the release of the show, originally planned for January, with the support of Netflix due to the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles at the time.
“I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California,” the Duchess of Sussex said in a statement on Jan. 12.
Meghan has also rebranded and relaunched her lifestyle brand, previously announced as American Riviera Orchard, with a new focus and new name: As ever.
She announced the change earlier this month, sharing that, like the show, her new company is a creative successor to The Tig.
“As ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening — this is what I do,” she shared in a video. “I haven’t been able to share it with you in the same way for the past few years, but now I can.”
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For anyone worried that the end of American Riviera Orchard means no more artisanal jam, which Meghan famously gifted to A-list pals last year, fear not.
“Of course, there will be fruit preserves. I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam,” she noted. “But there are so many more products that I just love, and now it’s time to share them with you. So I just can’t wait for you to see it.”
