Archewell, the charity foundation launched by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, has been declared delinquent.
Markle and Prince Harry have let the official registration fees for their charity, Archewell, lapse, according to a letter from the California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, making it delinquent.
The letter stated the charity, which launched in 2020, failed to submit required annual reports and renewal fees, and asked the royal pair to review their filings, Page Six first reported.
“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,” the letter stated.
“The organisation may also be subject to penalties and its registration may be suspended or revoked by the Registry.”
Archewell’s 2021 filing revealed it had raised US$13 million from benefactors, and had given out US$3 million in grants. But by 2022, donations had dropped by US$11 million, to US$2 million.
The filing follows the pair’s Nigeria tour, where they reportedly announced the expansion of their partnership between their foundation and a foundation in Abuka, GEANCO.
The couple have not responded to the filing, but according to reports, a cheque for the money was sent but never arrived. A second cheque has been sent to resolve the matter, the Telegraph reported.
It’s the second bump in the road for Harry and Meghan, who recently parted ways with Spotify.
The deal, which was reportedly worth US$20 million, resulted in only one series of Markle’s podcast, Archetypes, featuring interviews with guests like Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, Paris Hilton and Trevor Noah.
The Sussexes reportedly did not meet the “productivity benchmarks” needed to get the full payout from the deal by the time it ended.
The pair’s US$100 million contract with Netflix, which they signed in 2020, is sill in the works, with two new non-fiction series announced in April.
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