Prince Harry and Meghan Markle each worked just one hour a week for their Archewell Foundation in 2022, a new IRS filing has shown.
The duke and duchess are both listed as directors of the foundation, which was established in 2020 after the couple's dramatic split from the monarchy and move to the U.S. with their young family.
The foundation is the philanthropic arm of the couple's umbrella "Archewell" organization, which also includes Archewell Productions (the entertainment company with partnership links with streaming giant Netflix) and Archewell Audio (the content arm which produced Meghan's Archetypes podcast).
In the annual IRS 990 filing for the foundation released this month, Harry and Meghan's weekly working hours were officially listed, as well as data relating to fundraising, grant distribution and financial governance.
Why Do Harry and Meghan Work Just One Hour a Week for the Archewell Foundation?
In the Archewell Foundation IRS 990 filing for 2022 (its second full year in operation) the compensation and working hours for officers, directors, trustees, key employees, highest compensated employees, and independent contractors are listed.
For the foundation this amounts to five individuals: James Holt, the executive director and president; Michael Dale Stein, the senior strategic adviser; Shauna Nep, the co-executive director, treasurer and secretary; Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, a director; and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, as a director.
For Holt, Dale Stein and Nep, each is listed as performing on average a 40-hour working week with the foundation.
For Harry and Meghan, they are each listed as performing on average a one-hour working week for the foundation. This is the same amount of average working hours listed for the couple in the 2021 IRS 990 Archewell Foundation filing.
Though this number may appear small, it is not unusual for directors of philanthropic organizations.
"You'll typically see that listed for many directors," attorney Seth Perlman, partner of Perlman & Perlman LLP, previously told Newsweek of the couple's hour-long work week.
"If you have four board meetings a year—that's what directors do, they hold board meetings—then that turns into basically 12 hours a quarter. Which is, you know, a sufficient amount of time and a typical amount of time for board members to act."
He noted that it would be "unfair to criticize" the couple for such a filing, and added that: "The position of directors is to establish the mission and the vision, make sure that they hire the right people to carry that out, determine the governance of the organization, make sure that the financials are being properly overseen and make sure they fully understand the financials of the organization and then, if they do make grants to approve those grants."
"Those are the basic functions of directors, and they've assumed that position," he said.
Newsweek approached representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex via email for comment.
What Do We Know About Harry and Meghan's Working Routine?
Since they split from the monarchy in 2020, the public have gained a number of insights into the working life of Harry and Meghan at their new home base in Montecito, California.
In August 2022, Meghan revealed in an interview for The Cut that she and Harry work side-by-side, even sharing the same desk in their home office.
"Most people that I know and many of my family, they aren't able to work and live together," she told journalist Allison P. Davis. "It's actually really weird because it'd seem like a lot of pressure. But it just feels natural and normal."
Readers of Sussex biographer Omid Scobie's latest book Endgame were told that as well as working side by side, the couple also work out together before taking to their joint desk for morning meetings.
"One the kids are settled, the couple switch into their own prework morning routines," he wrote. "Their Tuscan-style villa (its number of bathrooms an obsession to the British press, who cite the stat in almost every article about the couple) includes a fully equipped gym they both make the most of before joining their first meetings of the day."
While the aim of the Archewell Foundation is to raise awareness for, fund and contribute to social initiatives and causes, Harry and Meghan also have individual professional interests they pursue, adding to their weekly working hours.
Harry is heavily involved in the Invictus Games and its foundation as its founding patron, and Meghan is reported to be working (according to a "source" cited in Scobie's Endgame) on a "more accessible" successor to her lifestyle blog, The Tig, which will be "rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life's simple pleasures and family."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
