Prince Harry and Meghan's Donations Plunge

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have seen donations to their Archewell Foundation drop by around $11 million, though the organization still has $8.5 million in the bank.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex got $13 million in donations in 2021—$10 million of which came from a single donor—but only $2 million in 2022.

This triggered a wave of headlines about the declining fortunes of their non-profit when the data appeared on a publicly available IRS form.

However, Newsweek understands the original lump sum was always intended to last Archewell for several years and the foundation finished 2022 with substantial reserves.

For Harry and Meghan, 2022 was the year of their Netflix series and Meghan's Archetypes podcast, while at the foundation they gave out $1.2 million in grants.

Staff believe fundraising would have been irresponsible while their coffers were so full and plan to continue dishing out around $1.2 million in grants per year.

The organization also expects to report around $5 million in revenue on its 2023 form, further swelling its bank account.

At the same time as the tax filing emerged, Archewell released its impact report detailing work carried out during 2022-23.

The document sounded in places like an avowal of the traditional royal formula of leading by example through charity work as it proclaimed: "We are committed to a simple but profound mission: Show Up, Do Good."

However, Harry and Meghan's public appearances have been far more infrequent than their U.K.-based royal counterparts, who turn up for good causes week by week.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were under pressure recently after analysis published in The Daily Telegraph showed he completed 172 royal engagements in 2023 while she completed 123.

Princess Anne did the most with 457 engagements while King Charles III came second on 425, based on data included in royal diary the Court Circular.

All did far more official visits than Harry and Meghan, though the Duke of Sussex is on record expressing strong opposition for this method of measuring royal performance.

His book, Spare, read: "The Court Circular was an ancient document, but it had lately morphed into a circular firing squad.

"It didn't create the feelings of competitiveness that ran in my family, but it amplified them, weaponized them. Though none of us ever spoke about the Court Circular directly, or mentioned it by name, that only created more tension under the surface, which built invisibly as the last day of the calendar year approached.

"Certain family members had become obsessed, feverishly striving to have the highest number of official engagements recorded in the Circular each year, no matter what, and they'd succeeded largely by including things that weren't, strictly speaking, engagements, recording public interactions that were mere blips, the kinds of things Willy and I wouldn't dream of including.

"Which was essentially why the Court Circular was a joke. It was all self-reported, all subjective. Nine private visits with veterans, helping with their mental health? Zero points. Flying via helicopter to cut a ribbon at a horse farm? Winner!"

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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