Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s charity has come under scrutiny once again, after Daily Mail exposed that it ‘raised less than $50,000’ in 2020. In the UK, that’s around less than £40,000 which is minuscule compared to what other royal charities raise in a year.
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To compare, in the same year, Tatler reported that the Royal Foundation, headed by Prince William and Kate Middleton, raised £11.78 million.
Shaky start to Archewell Foundation
While there is a huge difference in the sum that the two couples were able to get in their charity, there could be a specific reason behind why Archewell did so badly in the first year of its conception.
For starters, the charity was launched in October 2020, but its bank account was only opened in January 2021. Furthermore, a source revealed to Telegraph that during the first year, Harry and Meghan had put the Archewell launch on the back burner to focus on more pressing issues, including the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. An insider said at the time:
What's absolutely clear is that they want to get it right and there's no point in rushing.
They are settling into a new life, a new era. This is about getting it right and making sure they are able to make the difference they want to make.
This could have been the reason why they were unable to raise a substantial amount in their first year.
Closing down Sussex Royal
The documents, which were filed to the International Revenue Service (IRS) and procured by Daily Mail, also revealed that the couple’s now-defunct charity, Sussex Royal, cost them more than they received for Archewell in 2020. Statements showed that they spent at least $55,600 to close down the nonprofit.
Sussex Royal—The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was the charity they were in charge of while they were still part of the royal gamily and it reportedly cost £300,000 to get up and running. After they left, they changed the name to MXW Foundation but then decided to close it down only a year after it was first started.
