Harry and William split future proceeds of Diana’s memorial fund between their charities months before Megxit
The future proceeds of late Princess Diana’s memorial fund have been divided between her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, as the royal brothers have decided to work separately. On Tuesday, July 7, it was revealed that the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the now-defunct Sussex Royal Foundation agreed to this in December 2019 after signing an agreement. Financial documents stated that the agreement was signed just a month before Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced their plan to step down from the royal duties. The Sussexes are now living in Los Angeles, California, with their little son, Archie, after leaving the palace in end-March.
According to reports, in April 2013, The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was taken in control legally by the Royal Foundation charity to protect any future income. Though the memorial fund is not actively fundraising, it has been said that it at times receives some legacies and donations. Most of the donations of the fund go to charities selected by William and Harry, The Daily Mail reported. Before June 2019, the Royal Foundation was working under the names of Sussexes and Cambridges. However, when Harry and Meghan announced their plan to start their own financially-independent life and split from the joint charity, the foundation was renamed The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, while a separate, but now non-functioning, Sussex Royal Foundation was established.
In a report consolidating the end of 2019, The Royal Foundation said: “On 18 December 2019, an agreement was signed with the Sussex Royal Foundation by which The Royal Foundation intended to grant half of the net future proceeds received by the Diana Fund to Sussex Royal. In March 2020 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would no longer be operating Sussex Royal as their primary philanthropic vehicle in the UK and accordingly their share of the net income will instead be donated to another charity of The Duke of Sussex's choosing.”
The report also stated that in 2019, The Royal Foundation received $26,732 (£21,346) from the late princess’ memorial fund, while in 2018 it got $27,029 (£21,583). It has also been said that Harry demanded his share of the funds to get to the Sentebale, a charity he founded with Prince Seeiso, Principal Chief of Matsieng of the Basotho Royal Family, in 2006 that supports the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.al report stated that an unrestricted amount of $181,641 (£145,000) was given to the 35-year-old to help its set-up. While Sussex Royal also received a restricted grant of $125,248 (£100,000) for the development of Harry's sustainable tourism program Travalyst. Besides, The Royal Foundation had agreed to provide “a home legacy projects set up by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”. The projects reportedly include Empowering Communities and Full Effect programs with an aim to end youth violence in London and Nottingham and offer funding to a community kitchen in West London.
Meanwhile, an earlier report claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been formally bringing their UK foundation to a close as they move ahead with their new global charitable organization named after their son. They have named the foundation Archewell, which is the primary philanthropic vehicle for the couple as mentioned by The Royal Foundation.