In his defense. Prince Harry responded to claims he stole from a royal charity to support his life in America with his wife, Meghan Markle, and his 1-year-old son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Newsweek reported on Monday, July 20, that the Duke of Sussex and his brother, Prince William, were accused by the organization Republic of the inappropriate use of more than $350,000 after the split of their charity last summer.
Harry and Meghan left The Royal Foundation, which Harry founded with William in 2009, to found their own charity, which is now named Archewell. Newsweek reports that when Harry left The Royal Foundation, he and William were supposed to split the organization’s funds. Some of those funds went to Sussex Royal, Harry and Meghan’s first name for their charity, and other money went to Travalyst, Harry’s sustainable tourism organization.
In a letter to the U.K. Charity Commission, Republic wrote, “The Royal Foundation gave a grant of £145,000 ($183,000) to Sussex Royal and £144,901 ($183,057) to a non-charitable organization (Travalyst).”
The letter continued, “In both instances it appears the only rationale for the decision was the personal relationship between two patrons, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge.”
A friend close to Meghan and Harry claimed to Newsweek that Travalyst is a non-profit and that funds from Sussex Royal are valid for us. “During its 12-months, the sole program in operation and development at the charity has been the sustainable travel and tourism initiative, Travalyst,” the friend said. “Travalyst is now operating as an independent non-profit based in the UK, and all assets from Sussex Royal will transfer over.”
However, because Travalyst isn’t a registered charity, Republic claims that the organization shouldn’t receive any money. “Maybe I’m missing something here, but I find it difficult to believe that a charity making an independent and impartial decision would decide to make these payments,” Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, told Newsweek. “The Royal Foundation has lost almost £300,000 to Prince Harry’s pet projects. Harry’s own charity is now closing and he appears to be taking the charity’s money with him.”
Source: Instagram“Smith continued, “I can’t see how that isn’t a breach of charity law. Whatever the legal position this looks unethical and underhand. People donate money to a charity expecting it to be used to fund the charity’s objectives, not to be given away to support a patron’s other projects.”
In response to the claims, Harry’s legal team, Schillings, denied that the Duke of Sussex mishandled any funds. “The Duke of Sussex has always and continues to remain deeply committed to his charitable work,” Schillings said in a statement. “This is his life’s focus, and his devotion to charity is at the very core of the principles he lives by, and is obvious through the impact and success of his many charitable projects throughout the UK and beyond.”
The statement continued, “To this point, it is deeply offensive to today see false claims made about The Duke of Sussex and his charitable work. “It is both defamatory and insulting to all the outstanding organisations and people he has partnered with. Travalyst (which was founded within Sussex Royal) is a non-profit organisation for which The Duke receives no commercial or financial gain, as is the case with all of his charitable commitments.”
Schillings ended their statement by claiming that Harry does not have any “personal financial interest” in any of his charities. “The Duke has not, nor has he ever, had any personal financial interest in his charitable work,” the statement read. “All of The Duke’s charitable activities are fully transparent as well as compliant with Charity Commission guidelines, and moreover with his own moral compass.”
Source: InstagramA spokesperson for The Royal Foundation also denied that Harry or Meghan misused any of the charity’s funds. “The grants made to Sussex Royal were to support the charitable work of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” the spokesperson said. “They were fully in line with governance requirements and were reported transparently.”
Likewise, a spokesperson for the U.K. Charity Commission also determined that there wasn’t any “wrongdoing” by the Duke of Sussex. “They were fully in line with governance requirements and were reported transparently.” the spokesperson said. “We have received a complaint on this issue. As with all concerns raised with us we will assess the information provided to determine whether or not there is a role for the Commission. We have not made any determination of wrongdoing.”
from StyleCaster
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