Once upon a time, we lived in a world where the Fab Four were the future of the royal family. It was so strongly believed that their work would always be linked that Prince William and Prince Harry, along with their wives, made up the Royal Foundation. The Royal Foundation was created so that the two princes could run their charitable endeavors through the entity.
Of course, we all know that things didn't work out quite as imagined. The brothers split, with William and Kate continuing to run the Royal Foundation. Harry and Meghan hoped to create Sussex Royal as their own charitable entity. However, they were no longer allowed to use the title after stepping down as senior royals. They are now working on Archewell, which will be their charitable arm moving forward.
A watchdog group is accusing the Royal Foundation of inappropriate use of the funds in splitting the assets. The group believes that the money allotted to Harry from the foundation isn't being used for charity. Travalyst, Harry's sustainable travel project that was created under the Royal Foundation, received a chunk of that money. The group is now calling for an investigation of what it believes is improper use of that and Sussex Royal funds.
An anti-monarchy group has leveled some serious accusations against the Royal Foundation. It has referred the charity entity to a charity watchdog group over what it believes is an inappropriate use of funds. The group believes that the Royal Foundation has mishandled $350,000 in the split that saw Harry and Meghan step away to create their own charitable entity.
The Royal Foundation was set up in 2009 to give Prince William and Prince Harry an arm for their charitable endeavors. Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle joined the foundation upon their respective weddings. When Harry and Meghan started the splits that would lead up to their stepping back from the royal family, one of those splits was that of the Royal Foundation.
When the split in the Royal Foundation happened, funds needed to be divided between William's and Harry's charitable entities. At the time, Harry's portion of the funds was funneled into Sussex Royal, the charitable entity he and Meghan were working to create before learning they would no longer be able to use the name. Another portion went to Travalyst, Harry's sustainable travel organization.
Republic's letter to the UK Charity Commission explains where it feels funds were misused. "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 reads.
"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 source close to Harry and Meghan explained what was happening with Sussex Royal and Travalyst after the couple was forced to close Sussex Royal.
"During its 12-months, the sole program in operation and development at the charity has been the sustainable travel and tourism initiative, Travalyst," the source told Newsweek.
"Travalyst is now operating as an independent non-profit based in the UK, and all assets from Sussex Royal will transfer over."
Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, explains that Travalyst has not been made a standalone nonprofit. He believes that as a result, it shouldn't have received the funds from the Royal Foundation.
"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," he said in a statement.
"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," he 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."
Harry's team has fired back at the accusations.
"The Duke of Sussex has always and continues to remain deeply committed to his charitable work. 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," a spokesperson said.
"To this point, it is deeply offensive to today see false claims made about The Duke of Sussex and his charitable work," the statement continued.
"It is both defamatory and insulting to all the outstanding organizations and people he has partnered with. Travalyst (which was founded within Sussex Royal) is a non-profit organization for which The Duke receives no commercial or financial gain, as is the case with all of his charitable commitments."
"The Duke has not, nor has he ever, had any personal financial interest in his charitable work. The interest has always been clear: to support others and to make a positive difference," the spokesperson emphasized, adding that it's very important to Harry to help others in a genuine sense, not to help himself.
"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."
The Royal Foundation, which William and Kate continue to use as their charitable arm, also commented on Graham's accusations.
"The grants made to Sussex Royal were to support the charitable work of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex," a spokesperson said.
"They were fully in line with governance requirements and were reported transparently."
The Charity Commission has received the complaint and is investigating, a spokesperson confirmed.
"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," it said.
"We have not made any determination of wrongdoing."
People have noted the interesting timing of this accusation. It came as news began to break of Travalyst's virtual global summit on travel and tourism when the global health crisis is said and done. The last controversy involving Harry and the organization came out hours before Harry was set to give a speech. It isn't absurd for anyone to consider there may be some sabotage at play.
