Report reveals how much money Meghan and Harry’s charity raised in first year

The Archewell Foundation was founded in April 2020 but did not open a bank account until January 2021

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s US charity raised less than US$50,000 (£36,947) in 2020, tax return filings have revealed.

According to filings seen by the Daily Mail, Archewell — the non-profit set up by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in April 2020 — stated to the US’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that its gross receipts for 2020 were less than US$50,000.

According to the newspaper, Harry and Meghan’s lawyers said Archewell did not open its bank account until January 2021 and received its first deposit the following month.

In the US, charities are required to file a public “Form 990” to the IRS that detailed their finances every year. However, “small organisations” that raise under US$50,000 are not required to file an annual return but have to file an “e-Postcard” electronic notice to satisfy their annual reporting requirement.

In the UK, UK Companies House filings for the Sussexes’ now-defunct charity Sussex Royal showed that it had more than US$380,000 (£280,624) in its accounts in 2020 and spent at least US$55,600 (£41,084) on attorneys.

Last year, The Telegraph quoted a source as saying that Harry and Meghan were delaying any official projects under the charity to focus on the Covid pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The source added that the Sussexes would begin their projects “when the time is right”.

The couple set up their UK charity Sussex Royal in 2019 after breaking away from their joint foundation with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

However, they decided to dissolve Sussex Royal after moving to California. It came after they had to rename it as the MWX Foundation following their decision to step down as royals, which led to the Queen barring them from using the word “royal” in their branding.

The Sussexes later founded Archewell, which is registered in Delaware and has offices based in Beverly Hills.

Archewell’s website launched at the end of 2020 and says the charity aims to “unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change” through non-profit work.

It also contains details about Harry and Meghan’s lucrative partnerships with platforms such as Netflix and Spotify, although a spokesperson said the charity is separate from these deals.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes told The Times that Archewell saw no financial activity in 2020 and the documents required for 2021 will be filed at the relevant time.

They also added that MWX Foundation transferred all money left in its accounts to Harry’s non-profit sustainable travel company Travalyst when it dissolved, in line with governing documents.

The transfer was reviewed by the Charity Commission, which cleared the couple of any wrongdoing and said they were “fully in line with governance requirements and were reported transparently”.

The Independent has contacted Harry and Meghan’s representatives for comment.