#archewell post

[harryandmeghansussex]

"His time in Kaduna was more than just a visit; it was a tribute to resilience and a hopeful outlook for Nigeria’s heroes."

[saintmeghanmarkle]

🚨 𝑻𝑰𝑳 that H&M flew on 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 private charter flights in Nigeria. They were welcomed by Air Peace Founder & CEO 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐲𝐞𝐦𝐚. In 2019 the US Department of Justice issued a 36-count indictment against 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐲𝐞𝐦𝐚 for money laundering and bank fraud 🚨

🎥 Credit: 

https://twitter.com/flyairpeace/status/1789666674989240814

📌 Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Onyema

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Peace

https://businesstodayng.com/prince-harry-and-meghan-fly-air-peace-as-onyema-military-others-welcome-royal-couple/

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/05/air-peace-flies-prince-harry-meghan-to-lagos-as-duke-of-sussex-hails-nigerias-rich-culture/

post link

author: SeptiemeSens

submitted: May 14, 2024 at 05:51PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[trexalicious]

Every single day...

[cherryblossom5555]

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 I still crying with longing for a blog that has been inactive since January 17, 2024 https://www.tumblr.com/meghan-markle-archive and a blog that requires a password that I don't know (the password was created on January 17 this year) https://www.tumblr.com/blog_auth/meghan-markle-archive, which showed the life of Meghan Markle and her Instagram accounts: @meghanmarkle and @thetigofficial. I miss Meghan Markle's posts shared there, especially from thetigofficial on IG (of which there are so few available on the Internet, along with a photo and her personal description). Unfortunately, I found out about Meghan just before her wedding to Harry and, unfortunately, she already had inactive IG accounts at that time.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Can you please go into more detail about what you think has been happening at Sentebale from your professional experience and also from your royal watching experience too? Do you think the same has been happening at SussexRoyal, MWX, Archewell, American Rivera Orchard, As Ever, Travelyst etc.

Sentebale

First, I want to clear up some misinformation and rumors about Sentebale that I'm seeing on other blogs and forums: Sentebale did not receive the majority of its budget from USAID. You can check Sentebale's own annual reporting. The most recent annual report is 2023, in which they reported receiving approximately $213,000 from USAID and the UN. That is not a lot of money. To the federal government, that's like the equivalent of buying a 12-pack of crayons.

The other Sentebale/USAID rumor I've seen is that USAID gave Sentebale $51.4 million. No, that did not happen. USAID gave the country of Lesotho $51.4 million, earmarked for HIV/AIDS, over a period of five years cumulatively. It's possible that Sentebale got some of that money, but they did not get all of that money.

So USAID's foreign assistance getting turned off is likely not the source of Sentebale's current financial crisis. Reading the 2023 annual report, it sounds like most of Sentebale's money is raised from private donors. The NGO assistance from USAID and the UN is a small, insignificant portion of their overall budget.

(Lastly: I don't care what your political stripes are. This is not the post to be linking USAID to fraud and corruption. I will be blocking everyone who talks about that in any reblogs or comments. This is your only warning.)

But all of that said, I feel pretty confident saying that Sentebale does have financial issues of some kind. Look at the 2023 financial statement, which is included in the 2023 annual report:

The TL;DR of this worksheet is that expenditures (money going out) are rising while income (money going in) are declining.

This is not unique to Sentebale. It's a reflection of the economic downturn that many people and countries around the world are struggling with. And in fact, Sentebale's annual report says just this:

In my opinion, declining income means donors aren't giving or they're not giving big bucks anymore. For me, that's a ding on the board and the patrons because they're the ones who do a lot of schmoozing with the donors to raise money. From what I've seen of Harry...well, he plays polo twice a year and that's really all we know about his kind of charity work. I don't think he's courting donors the way he needs to, or should be, and I think that's a systemic problem in his approach to charity work - he and Meghan both seem to be resting on their titles and expecting the money to come rolling in because of that, plus their connection to the BRF.

The annual report also includes a statement on trustee responsibilities, which outlines their duties and responsibilities to Sentebale.

Knowing some of the complaints/concerns that Dr. Chandauka raised in her statement to The Sun, I suspect there's something going on here with their responsibilities as well, probably related to policies and records management. They aren't glamorous areas of responsibility - like when you join a board, you don't think about compliance requirements, you're usually thinking of all the fun, cool stuff you're going to do - so either the compliance work will get the barest minimum of attention or it'll get pushed to the Chair to do.

And that's kind of what I'm feeling is happening: the board isn't doing compliance (or hasn't done compliance well) so Dr. Chandauka has had to step in and now the board is upset because they don't like the way she's doing it and/or the decisions she's making.

SussexRoyal/MWX Foundation

I don't know a whole lot about these two charities. I know that Harry and Meghan intended for SussexRoyal to be their version of the Royal Foundation, but as per one of the books (Finding Freedom? Revenge?), it was incorporated in the wrong way.

There are two ways to incorporate a charitable organization. I'm fuzzy on all of the specific details, but it more or less boils down to one way has less oversight, the other way has more oversight. SussexRoyal was incorporated in the "more oversight" way, while Harry and Meghan wanted it in the "less oversight" way. Why did they want this, I can only guess, and it's because they planned to use the organization not so much for nonprofit charitable work but as a way to reduce their own personal expenses by charging SussexRoyal instead.

All I know about MWX Foundation is that after they were told they can't use "royal" and Meghan had her little hissy fit, they launched MWX Foundation and moved all of the SussexRoyal assets there.

Where the snafu with the Royal Foundation happened is that when the Sussexes left, William and the Royal Foundation gave them a little bit of seed money so they could launch SussexRoyal/MWX Foundation. This is perfectly normal, it happens all the time, but there are certain laws, rules, and regulations to follow. The Charity Commission received a complaint that the transfer of funds was fraudulently done because it was about the brothers' relationship more so than the charitable organizations. (It sounds to me like someone was upset that they donated to the Royal Foundation but the check was cashed by SussexRoyal, which is a legitimate complaint.)

While the commission's investigation cleared the transactions between RF and MWX, the investigation did ding MWX on their documentation and recordkeeping...aka compliance. Their findings specifically said that MWX was spending too much on administration (meaning operating expenses and salaries), that it was concerning how quickly they closed the charity's operations, and the documentation wasn't as complete as it could have been.

Travalyst

So Harry's Travalyst organization was part of the RF/MWX investigation. The seed money that RF gave to MWX was later given to Travalyst.

And what do we know about Travalyst? ... Nothing. They don't put out any kind of annual reports or statements, so it's not really clear what they do, other than something having to do with sustainable travel.

A lot of people have a lot of questions about Travalyst.

For me, I think Travalyst is a way for Harry to get kickbacks from the travel industry in the name of conservation/environmentalism. I truly do believe that a lot of the traveling we see him (and Meghan) do is organized through Travalyst in a way that not only lets them write off all their expenses and taxes to someone else's checkbook, but also allows them to fly private and say they're helping the environment.

Major eyerolls from me here.

Archewell

Tragic name aside, I feel like Archewell was well-intentioned but poorly executed in the way that all things Sussex are. Archewell is/was definitely set up the way Meghan wanted, with as little oversight as possible.

And the thing about Archewell is that a lot of the problems they were dinged on for SussexRoyal/MWX Foundation, those problems followed them to Archewell. They have significant administration costs and their recordkeeping is lax (because they're always late on tax filings).

They do actually have good programming with Archewell, once you look past how odious and insufferable Meghan and Harry are. But the programming gets lost underneath the way the Sussexes use Archewell for self-promotion (which is true about a lot of these celeb-led charities), the downside to which is the assumption (and rumors) that the Sussexes use Archewell for a personal piggy bank, despite the record "showing" they work only one hour a week and don't draw a salary.

Speaking for myself only, my impression of Archewell is like a mafia-run restaurant. You don't actually see anyone in the restaurant (Archewell doesn't actually do anything) but year after year after year, the restaurant still stays open. Someone is bankrolling their operation because they don't seem to make any profit. Plus the fact that it's both a non-profit and a for-profit umbrella...gives me the icks.

ARO/As Ever

We might as well lump these two together because they're the same thing.

And just like with Archewell, the issues from SR/MWX continue to follow Meghan: insufficient documentation and lax recordkeeping, because she can't get her trademark and copyright applications correct.

This isn't a non-profit, it's an entirely for-profit organization selling goods and products, so a lot of the rules that apply to AW/SR/MWX don't apply here. I would not be surprised if there are invisible strings connecting Archewell to As Ever - for instance, maybe Meghan used money from Archewell to launch As Ever, versus her own money.

Invictus Games

I did a deep dive on their financials last year and much of it still remains valid. I don't know much else about Invictus Games as a nonprofit, so this will have to do.

The End

So if we look at the Sussexes' history as leaders of their own charitable organizations...they kinda suck. Because here's what we know:

There was actual evidence of mismanagement from the 2020 Charity Commission investigation pertaining to compliance and recordkeeping.

There are similar issues with documentation and recordkeeping in Archewell and As Ever.

Donations to Sentebale and Invictus Games are going down while expenditures are going up.

Harry is checked out of Invictus Games, showing up only for events (aka the games).

Harry is checked out of Sentebale, showing up only for events (aka polo).

Harry is checked out of Archewell, showing up only for events (aka paid speeches in NYC) - otherwise, it's largely Meghan's charity vehicle.

What even is Travalyst?

And I didn't include African Parks in this round-up, but we also know that Harry is checked out of African Parks and tends to show up only when there's an event.

Yes, that technically is what being a patron means - you lend your starpower to the organization so they can raise money or awareness, but most other patrons are also involved in the work, attending calls and reading reports and actually helping with the fundraising. That isn't what Harry does. He shows up for the bare minimum to collect his fee. That's what the historical record shows. That's what the safe assumption to make is.

So am I surprised that there's strife at Sentebale? No, not at all. Because it seems to follow Harry. He's so checked out otherwise, focusing only on how he can use charity work for attention and PR. He's not going to do anything with compliance. He just wants to collect his check and get content for a PR campaign.

And I think with Sentebale, it's finally caught up to him. It's caught up to him in a way that the African Parks scandal didn't, and I think it's for two reasons: 1) how much more personally affiliated Harry is to Sentebale, which makes him that much more personally responsible, and 2) that Harry has successfully affiliated Diana to Sentebale.

And I would put good money on Harry's accountability having everything to do with his mother's memory. He does not want Diana connected to any negativity or criticism, which honestly is very fair of him. I would also even suggest that the way Harry's PR keeps connecting Sentebale to Diana means he may have been able to use her memory to get whatever he wanted out of the board, and possibly donors too, but either Dr. Chandauka doesn't fall for that or the changes she made/wants to make doesn't leave room for Diana worship/guilt.

But as I've said before, and as I will keep saying, there's a lot we don't know about what's happening at Sentebale so I continue to urge everyone to tread carefully here.

[celticcrossanon]

Markle/Netflix TEA Part 2 of 3: Mike Zeroh says this gives a lot of insight into why her niceness comes across as fake because she is actually horrible. Meghan is demanding all marketing on her team be "women of color." CEO Greg Peters seems to want to hold firm at let the contract expire. Netflix feels that Markle is insufferable and damaging to their brand.

Markle/Netflix TEA Part 3 of 3: Meghan feels that having another $100M contract with Netflix is important to her status in the industry. She is threatening Netflix if they don't renew, she will publicly accuse them of discrimination for believing false narratives on social media. Mike Zeroh says she is irrelevant and everyone wants to see her vanish into thin air and stay silent.

Markle/Netflix TEA Part 1 of 3: Mike Zeroh, a youtuber (who allegedly has a source in the know) says Meghan is playing the race card at Netflix. She is telling CEO Greg Peters she wants DEI involved in the negotiation of their new contact and says if they don't resign them it will be racist and misogynistic. She is claiming discrimination if the contract does not renew. She is saying she will do a season 2 of her cooking show and 2 other mystery projects if they do renew the contract.

*

Hi Nonny,

I have combined the two asks I received from you. I don't know if there was a part one I posted separately or if it just did not come through, or if I have posted all three before (in which case I apologise for going it again - I did check back and couldn't see them, but I may have missed the post).

As always, take this tea with salt. It seems believable to me, especially the threatening/bullying bit, but I'm not sure about the 'marketing team being all women of colour' bit given her past record of employing people for Archewell.

Edit: Part one just popped up in my inbox, so I am adding it in here, after part three. Sorry for them being out of order.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Gatecrashers

Help. I bet you smart sleuthers have already covered this topic somewhere around our Tumblr neighborhood, but per usual I'm late to the party. Will someone please help me better understand Sparry's so-called "visit" with the King because the photographs and timing just don't add up. Connecting the dots seems to reveal 2 rebellious overseas unroyals who were determined to show up at Clarence House with or without permission.

On Tuesday, I felt annoyed to see the Royal Family YouTube channel (unaffiliated w/the BRF) patched into a live stream outside of Buckingham Palace. I thought it was a ridiculous invasion of privacy. Now I understand that the King was previously scheduled to arrive at BP (late morning) and the media was waiting to capture the first photo of king Charles post -treatment.

It seems Charles & Camilla were on a tight schedule which could explain the early morning (or overnight) visit with Beatrice & Edo.

The British media obviously knew that Charles was expected at BP and yet they disregarded this important bit of information to focus on Sparry's PR talking points---- all the while these manipulative talking heads knew the King had a prior engagement in his diary.

Pressure Pressure Pressure is what The Meghans wickedly tried to apply to Charles & William. There was even a mention of an EMPTY Frogmore Cottage. How low can these 2 go?🤬

Perhaps Mr and Mrs Sparry informed the men in grey of their plans to gatecrash the king & queen's departure. "Coming with or without permission." This would also explain why they flooded the media with Sparry's intention to see his father "within the next 2 days" followed by that crystal clear photograph at LAX. Someone around our Tumblr community or perhaps on reddit shared a catchy manifesting term...I'm sorry I didn't write it down bc it perfectly describes how The Meghans use her sharp elbows to bully their way through life.

All of this MANIFESTING crap to manipulate a face to face meeting with Charles: a man reeling from a life threatening diagnosis, recovering from an invasive procedure, and preparing for some sort of systemic poison.

Have I mentioned that The Meghans SUCK at compassion!!!

Beatrice & Edo

Doesn't it seem likely that family members have been welcomed to Clarence House (post-diagnosis) to wish Charles well before his Sandringham retreat-----perhaps the beginning of holistic treatments or simply to recover from the 1st of several adjuvant treatments.

The couple seems dressed for an early morning visit with a family member, NOT an audience with the King of England.

vs.

Sparry

Perhaps Sparry told the Palace "Me too! I'm coming to see my father too" and he was told "not this week," and MEgain responded "we'll see about that!"

I seem to remember Sparry had to be forced (by the Queen Elizabeth) to speak to his father and that meeting ended with shouting.

I also seem to remember Sparry had no time to give his family before or after His father's coronation.

As a courtesy, the men in grey delayed KC's departure & granted Sparry an audience with His Majesty the King, not a visit/block of time for a father-son brunch or lunch.

Sparry wearing all black upon his entrance to Clarence House but upon departure he's photographed wearing black and white, with a tie. Why didn't Sparry change clothes on the airplane?

This publicity stunt was meant to bury the African Parks story and the story about the (mon)ARCHewell revolving door. The Meghans have proven to the family (yet again) that there is no bottom to their depravity.

It was also a test for His Majesty's government as they push for IPP status, a campaign for royal housing, and of course information gathering for blackmail.

Let's do the math:

An audience with a sovereign (or even a President) is only about 5-10 minutes plus or minus time for photographs.

Sparry arrived at Clarence House by 2:45pm. Charles & Camilla were in a vehicle by 3:30pm. Sparry (if the photo is current) changed into business attire while at Clarence House. How long was Sparry in the same room as Charles?

Have I mentioned that MEgain and Sparry are SCUM and so are the British talking heads who served as their mouthpieces!?!?!

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Her papwalks used to get a lot more engagements and her ‘friends’ posting pics did as well. Now it’s just crickets.

Because before people actually believed that's who she was just a yoga loving hippy living a totally organic lifestyle now she's backed out head to toe in designer making everyone call her Duchess 🙄 she created her brand and then rwcked it herself.

Could be, but I think people were always more interested in the romance narrative and whether she would actually marry Harry and become a royal than in her personally.

And part of the problem now is that she has no story. Is she reclaiming her brand? Forging a new post-royal path? Starting a new venture? Supporting a new cause? Divorcing? Building her own identity within the marriage? No one can tell.

That why I think WME is just looking for new deals and merching contracts, and the pr drive is Archewell diy. A good publicist would nail that story down before setting up pap shots (remember how SS told people they were getting engaged from day 1?). This feels very haphazard.

[houseofbrat]

Sorry HoB but this is going to be a long one…because the post you did about the financial shenanigans of KP’s PR vs. what the Royal Foundation actually disburses is so important!!

And it exposes both the hypocrisy of the media and of the KP Kult who both pore over any financial disclosures of Archewell - a foundation of two wealthy <private> individuals - where it in truth functions like these foundations usually do for the privately wealthy - fancy window dressing.

A completely different and HIGHER STANDARD should apply to <public servants> who use money from the Sovereign Grant to support what little engagements that they do that then fundraises for and promotes this foundation. Especially when their PR are exposed as outright lies by the consequent financial disclosures.

Remember all the feverish reporting about their “Community Impact Days” and how “game changing” it was? That term died a quiet death after the splashy PR to promote themselves and get in backhanded digs at the work the rest of the family actually do.

Remember how KP covered for William’s lack of transparency around Duchy finances by teasing that they’ve got a mental health program in the works? It was touted to launch in 2024 but then a quiet announced followed a few days before Christmas shifting the goal post to 2025 and with no actual engagement from them to promote or spotlight this.

Where is the Duchy money going?

How much tax is he actually paying if any?

Why doesn’t their actual expenditure match their PR?

Why is William being less transparent than his father around finances?

Does William have a personal financial stake in companies he uses Sovereign Grant funds to go out and promote?

Why does Cathy’s “life’s work joy project” have an empty balance at end of 2023?

What is William’s average cost per engagement or Cathy’s average outfit cost per engagement? These numbers would lay bare just how low the ROI of their work is.

Where is the actual impact compared to their words even as it relates to his patronages? Willy and Cathy claim they take on so few so that they can create “actual and deeper impact”. Well he went to Centrepoint yesterday to mark 20 years of being their patron and what has those two decades actually achieved? He does the standard royal visit with them and homelessness keeps increasing sooo?!

Their finances is where the real rot is if the media could get off their knees at KP’s feet or stop reporting that Charles and Diana have divorced, and do some actual journalism.

[related post]

I took a slightly deeper look through some of W&K's old foundation reports, and noticed that most of their grants are single (one year) grants with very few exceptions. "Unless otherwise stated, all amounts are for single grants."

But the real story seems to be that W&K just aren't giving out much money any more with their foundation. Their grant and donation giving has reached a ten-year low.

I noticed this from looking at the Charity Commission for England & Wales when I first saw the five-year breakdown.

That's just the five-year view available on the website.

In 2023, they gave out just over half a million in grants and donations.

It's really noticeable when you take a look at their old foundation reports.

The Earthshot Prize was spun off into its own charity after 2022, which is part of the reason for the huge drop. The other reason is that they simply aren't doing much of anything with their foundation.

If you look at the page from their 2023 report above that details the grants & donations given, you see that they made only ten grants/donations: Police Care UK, The Mix, Life at No.27, Hideaway Youth Project, Institute of Health Visitors, WellChild, Earthshot Prize, Focused Conservation Solutions, The Felix Project, and Sentebale.

Take a look at the same page from their 2016 report below and you will easily see more than ten grants:

They gave £1,874,761 in grants, which is more than twice what they gave in 2023. That foundation had a far greater reach in 2016 than they did in 2023.

They hardly did anything for their foundation in 2023, and I don't expect 2024 to look much better. I expect 2024 to be solidly focused on Homewards, as operating that seemed to be a huge chunk of their expenses in 2023. The Early Years too.

The Early Years programme incurred the highest expenditure (£2.6m; 2022: £1.8m) as following investment in The Centre for Early Childhood team and increasing activity following the Shaping Us campaign launched in January 2023. Communications, marketing and event costs reflect the activation around the campaign and the subsequent Shaping Us symposium, with grant expenditure incurred in relation to the health visitor trial and research projects.  Following the public launch of Homewards in June, spend on Homelessness grew significantly (2023 £2.2m, 2022 £0.5m). This reflects increased staff costs as a dedicated Homewards team was built, as well as investing in evaluation measurement to support the development of the programme over the coming years. 

Homewards is William's new short-term, passion project that has 3.5 years of life left in it. It remains to be seen if it'll be spun out into a separate organization at the end of its five-year run or just ends. However, what was really gained by all the money spent on "communications, marketing and event costs" for the Shaping Us campaign? I don't think it moved the needle on anything. A million pounds wasted on a vanity project. The rest of The Early Years project is debatable at this point as Kate does not seem to be doing much of anything for it in the near future.

When I look at their 2023 report, I see a whole lot of vanity projecting forth. They would be better off if they had spread themselves out to help other organizations, as they did several years ago.

It's the same story with their patronages. Visit once per year, if that. Not many more engagements outside of a select few areas. Wouldn't want the heir to the throne and his wife to do something outside of their busy personal lives.

[ingek73]

RITY NEWS

What It’s Really Like to Work for Meghan Markle: Staffers Reveal Truth Behind Rumors (Exclusive)

By Justin Ravitz and Jaime Harkin September 24, 2024

Hours after The Hollywood Reporter published a piece alleging Meghan Markle’s “terrible” behavior is the cause of the high turnover rate at the company she runs with her husband, Prince Harry, a current employee posted a note on Instagram passionately debunking the report. The September 12 article, which claimed that those who work for Meghan are “terrified” of her, included quotes from a source calling her a “dictator in high heels” who “belittles” people and has reduced “grown men to tears.” The staffer said the allegations made in the article are wildly inaccurate and damaging to both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and members of their team. Current and former staffers quickly flooded the comments with statements of support. “Best bosses I have ever had,” one current team member wrote, while an ex-staffer added that their time with the Sussexes was “truly an honor.”

The Duchess of Sussex has long been dogged by reports she promotes a toxic workplace environment. Back in 2021, days before the couple sat down for an in-depth CBS News interview to share their story, The Times of London reported the former actress had allegedly bullied and reduced staff members to tears at Kensington Palace. In August, NewsNation claimed Meghan and Harry had lost 18 employees between their time in the U.K. and the U.S. (they launched Archewell Foundation in 2020), with a source blaming an “unbearable” and “condescending” Meghan for the “churn and burn” rate.

Several current and former staffers paint a different picture to Us. Ben Browning, their former head of content — who was responsible for getting their Harry & Meghan documentary on Netflix before leaving after his contract expired in early 2023 — says his experience at the company and with Meghan and Harry in general “was positive and supportive,” adding, “we all continue to be friends. The narratives we’ve seen suggesting the contrary are untrue.” Onetime chief of staff Catherine St-Laurent tells Us she and the couple have also “remained close” and says, “The time I spent working with Prince Harry and Meghan was incredibly meaningful to me.”

While Josh Kettler’s August departure as Harry’s chief of staff sparked more negative press, he says he was “warmly welcomed” by both Harry and Meghan and the Archewell team during his stint. “They are dedicated and hardworking,” he tells Us of the pair. “It was impressive to witness.”

Ashley Hansen, global press secretary to the duke and duchess and the head of communications for Archewell, says her bosses couldn’t have been more supportive when she had to take some extended time off for a serious surgery. “When I told them, I was met with the kind of concern and care a parent would express if it were their own child,” she recalls. “I was asked what I needed, how and if they could help, and told to take as much time as I needed.” Hansen says Harry and Meghan sent flowers and care packages, “but most profoundly to me, Meghan would personally reach out to my husband daily to make sure that we both were OK and had support,” she adds. “It meant so much to him and even more to me. You don’t realize how much that kind of kindness and thought means until you need it.”

Normal Hiccups

There’s little doubt the company — which employs a small team of roughly 16 full-time employees and is comprised of the Archewell Foundation (their charitable nonprofit), a production side (which deals with audio work like podcasts and their Netflix deal) and communications (Markle’s new lifestyle brand is a separate entity) — has had some growing pains. “Archewell is not unlike a start-up; it’s relatively young,” says Hansen, adding, “Two things can be equally true: you can be a great leader and still have turnover. No boss or company is immune to that.”

Adds a current employee who asked to remain anonymous: “People leave at any company — they get new opportunities, change their careers or feel their role isn’t the right fit. They also sometimes get let go. Those decisions are part of doing business.” Hansen maintains Meghan and Harry have no hard feelings toward anyone who’s left. “They want people to grow and to have opportunity — whether that’s within or eventually outside of [the company].”

Good Vibes Only

The current anonymous staffer says colleagues have been “dumbfounded by the claims,” adding, “It’s clear where this type of commentary is coming from. It’s likely made up from someone who’s disgruntled.” Browning tells Us the narrative is “simply a predictable attempt at creating intrigue through sewing false conflict.”

The office culture is positive. “This is the first company I’ve worked [where I] liked every person,” says the source. “Harry and Meghan picked the best of the best from every field and watered the seeds for them to flourish. We have an enormous microscope on us. But good things are happening.”

Staffers outside of the production team, which has an office in Hollywood, work remotely most of the time — including Harry and Meghan, who share an office at their Montecito home. Occasionally, staffers will gather at the couple’s mansion or meet at Soho Works. “The teams find ways to work together in shared spaces,” says a former staffer, adding that everybody’s welcome to request in-person meetings with Harry or Meghan wherever and whenever. While the Sussexes get dressed up for formal events, they sometimes show up at virtual meetings in baseball hats and T-shirts.

During weekly Zoom calls, Harry will chat casually with staffers. “He’s fun. He definitely takes the work seriously, but when a meeting starts, the first five or 10 minutes are all pleasantries, like, ‘How was your weekend?’ Or “How’s the construction going at the house?’” the ex-employee says. As a group, they go to happy hours and have holiday parties. “We’re planning a karaoke night,” adds the current staffer, “because we have two people getting married on the team.”

Sweet Gestures

Other acts of kindness from the duke and duchess? “When I adopted my dog, the next day, I had a luxury brand leash and new collar on my doorstep,” says the former staffer, who adds that parents-to-be are given brand-new gifts and top-notch secondhand stuff from the couple themselves “like unused car seats and baby items they no longer need.” During the Colombia trip, the duke and duchess texted a team leader to take everyone out for drinks.

“They want to take care of us,” the current employee says. “Meghan will do things like, ‘You mentioned on the call your skin is bothering you, I put together a kit for you.’” And during team visits to the couple’s Montecito home, no one departs empty-handed. “Whenever staff goes to their house, they leave with a basket with fresh flowers, fresh fruit, fresh eggs,” the staffer says.

Behind the Scenes

Meghan’s known for giving credit where it’s due. “If you’re in a meeting and a great idea is referenced, she makes sure to give props to the person who generated the idea,” says the former employee. “[After] a big trip, every employee gets a personal email thanking them for their contribution in making it a success.”

The former employee says Meghan is the first person to wish staffers a happy birthday and is “compassionate and understanding” when it comes to illness or family commitments. As for rumors of Meghan’s penchant for tantrums, the current staffer says they have “never” heard her yell, explaining that the duchess “gives clear direction and is solution-oriented.” And those reports of firing off demanding emails at 5 a.m.? Meghan’s official email signature reads: “My working day may not be your working day. Please do not feel obliged to reply to this email outside your normal working hours.”

On the Defense

Loyal staffers take the outside criticism to heart. “We’re here for a reason,” says the current team member. “If you come for our bosses, you’re coming for us. This isn’t a criminal organization. We’re trying to do good.”

A second former staffer recalls asking for a break during a low point in their lives and says Harry and Meghan were more than happy to give them time off, no questions asked. “I needed to be totally off the grid. They couldn’t have been more supportive and even paid me during my leave. It’s so in their nature to lean in and support and take into consideration that there is a human behind this job.”

“Part of the profound injustice of having to speak publicly on this in light of these endless and damaging narratives is that so much of the kindness, mentorship, and support that Prince Harry and Meghan share with others happens quietly behind closed doors,” says Mandana Dayani, who served as the president of Archewell for 18 months in 2021 and 2022. “I’ll never forget sitting on the floor in their kitchen while Meghan was feeding Princess Lily and cold-calling a dozen senators — their reactions were unbelievable — to ask them to advocate for paid leave.”

Dayani and Meghan traveled to Uvalde, Texas, after the tragic 2022 school shooting. “For hours, [Meghan] sat in a room with grieving families, going one by one to each person — hugging them and crying with them,” she recalls to Us, noting that Meghan has since kept in touch with the families affected by the tragedy.

While working with the Sussexes, she grew close to them personally. “Some of my favorite memories were during our weekly meetings in their Montecito home, where Meghan always served the most incredible lunches, snacks and her latest beautiful concoction.”

They all remain close. “These are kind, decent, caring people who I am very proud to call my friends.”

For more on Meghan, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.

[the-empress-7]

“I honestly don't know what the rules are and exactly when the "do not solicit" order when into effect. It's likely that they will not be able to claim any donations (in or out) for just the period of delinquency.”

Someone on twitter/X posted that Archewell has a $600,000 deficit.

I am side-eyeing James Holts large paycheck and wondering what it is actually for. 🇬🇧

They will just write off the deficit on their taxes and call it a day.

James Holt is earning his keep. From what I can tell it's James and the woman (the one who went to Singapore with Harry and was rudely shooing away people in Nigeria) that pulled off this three day feat.

[trexalicious]

[sussex-newswire]

"As deadly wildfires continue to burn in the greater Los Angeles area, California residents Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are continuing to support those who have been impacted.

"The Archewell Foundation has donated to the Altadena Girls Fire Recovery Fund, T&C can confirm. The organization posted on Instagram yesterday: 'A special thanks to The Archewell Foundation for your support!'

"Altadena Girls was launched by 14-year-old Avery Colvert to support her community. 'The mission of the Altadena Girls Fire Recovery is simple yet profound: to help young girls regain their sense of self and confidence,' the account notes. 'Avery, witnessing the profound impact on her friends and schoolmates, has embarked on this mission to provide essentials that are crucial for them to feel like themselves again.'

"Those running the page added, 'We are focusing on gathering clothes, personal items, beauty and hair care products – the everyday items that allow these teenagers to thrive and carry on amidst challenging circumstances. By contributing, you help us fund the necessary items that bring smiles back to our teenagers’ faces and a sense of normalcy back to their lives. More importantly, you are helping us build towards long-term support.' (You can donate here.)

[sassyfrassboss]

Why do they need another website other than the one for Archewell? I'm not seeing the point. I never wanted to be exposed to their data collection, but wasn't all this same kind of stuff like bios posted on Archewell too? What's the difference - just to stroke their egos some more?

They created another website that they aren't going to do anything with but for now it makes them feel important and powerful I guess.

I think they are trying to disassociate from Archewell. All of their projects through AW have crashed and burned so it seems like they are moving on...

[celticcrossanon]

Shady AF, Celta. Daily Mail "Mystery of Harry and Meghan's tax return: Archewell Foundation promised to declare $4MILLION charity donation... but has yet to post latest records publicly" by Chris Matthews. Archewell is overdue to be audited by the tax authorities, IMO. I want the Harkles to stop getting away with s**t and start facing consequences that every other mere mortal on earth would face for pulling crap like this.

Hi Nonny,

I want them to face the consequences as well. I don't know if they are required to post their records publicly by law or if this is just the newspapers creating clickbait for the general dislike of the Harkles. I'm not defending them; I just want to know how valid the charges in the article are before I get all upset about it. If the charges are valid, then the Harkles getting away with it is obviously wrong. If they aren't valid, then it is a media beat up for clicks and the reporters goes even lower in my estimation of them.

Article in ask