Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, launched her hotly-anticipated back-to-work line for charity Smart Works on Thursday. The ‘Smart Set’ comprises of five pieces, known as a ‘capsule collection’ – a shirt, trousers, blazer, dress and bag. For every item sold, one will be donated to the Smart Works charity, which in turn will give it to a woman struggling to get back into the workforce.

The line was released in most sizes via official partners, including Marks and Spencer, Jigsaw and John Lewis.

The items, which sold out quickly, are expected to be restocked imminently.

But before stockists could replenish the items, scammers who had their hands on the items began flooding them for massively inflated prices on the auctioning site eBay.

The black and brown leather tote bags, sold by John Lewis for £109, are being touted on eBay for up to £345.

The £19.50 Marks & Spencer dress, which has not even sold out yet, is on sale online for up to £150.

While the Jigsaw trousers, which are being sold at £120, are being hawked for £400.

Customers are being urged not to fall victims to the scam, and to keep in mind their purchase will not carry the knock-on charity donation.

A John Lewis spokesperson said they were “delighted” with the success of the bag and that its focus was on the community-building aspect of the project.

They added: “For those customers who are interested in buying a bag and consequently having another one donated to Smart Works, we urge them to go into one of our shops where they can purchase a Smart Set bag today.

“If that isn’t possible, more stock will be on our website next week.

“Sales of the tote bag anywhere else do not lead to a charity donation.”

The launch of the collection marks Meghan’s official return to royal duties some four months after the birth of her son, Archie Harrison.

She said the idea came to her after a visit to Smart Works, for which she is patron, when she realised that its donations were not necessarily the things women needed when going for interviews or starting a new job.

The Duchess then personally approached the three “quintessentially British brands” to ask if they would create a capsule collection of workwear to be sold individually in the name of Smart Works while her designer friend Misha Nonoo contributed a crisp, white cotton shirt.

Miss Nonoo, rumoured to be the friend who introduced Meghan to Prince Harry, said on Friday that her friend “genuinely seeks to help people” and “really wants to make people’s lives better”.

The Smart Set collection is expected to be available for two weeks, providing enough stock for Smart Works to provide staple pieces to clients for a year.

Smart Works revealed that the first clients to benefit from the project had been delighted to be given items from the collection after an initial “drop” was distributed to its centres across the UK.

One woman said: “My outfit made me feel like a boss – powerful and strong.

“It just made me feel amazing, reminding me of how far I have come and the future I have in front of me.”

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