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14th May 2024

Harry and Meghan’s charity found to be ‘delinquent’ over unpaid fees

Nina McLaughlin

Harry and Meghan’s Archewell charity has been forced to stop fundraising

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have found themselves in hot water after their Archewell charity was found to be delinquent over unpaid fees.

This means that the charity could face suspension and is unable to fundraise while being categorised as delinquent.

The pair founded the charity back in 2020 after they stepped back from their roles as senior royals. Archewell gave out grants worth $1.2m (£960,000) last year.

California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta sent the delinquency notice after Archewell failed to file annual reports and pay its renewal fees.

“An organisation that is listed as delinquent is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds,” a letter from California’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers read, via Sky News.

“The organisation may also be subject to penalties and its registration may be suspended or revoked by the registry.

“Once you submit the delinquent record(s), you will be notified of the amount of any late fees that are owed.”

Although Harry and Meghan are yet to publicly respond to the news of Archewell’s situation, a spokesperson has claimed that the delinquency notice is due to a lost cheque.

They said that all paperwork had been filed on time, but that the cheque required did not make it in time.

The situation will be “quickly resolved”, the charity said, and a “new cheque has been mailed”.

The spokesperson clarified that Archewell’s tax filings were nothing to do with this scenario, as they had been submitted in full and paid on time.

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