Harry and Meghan close Sussex Royal charity ahead of big 2021 launch
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have dissolved their charity Sussex Royal, as they prepare to launch their new non-profit, Archewell, sometime in 2021.
The royals were hoping to use ‘Sussex Royal’ after stepping back from their role as senior members of the Royal Family, having built up a large following on their Instagram account.
But as part of the agreement with the Queen, they agreed not to use the word royal in any future branding.
Instead, they confirmed earlier this year they will be launching a non-profit organisation called Archewell.
It’s understood the launch of the organisation is delayed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and as the couple understands the situation around the Black Lives Matter campaign.
A source close to the couple confirmed on Friday that the charity Sussex Royal had been dissolved, and paperwork had been filed with Companies House and the Charity Commission.
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The charity will go into “solvent liquidation” and all directors will step down, except for Harry who will stay on as director and trustee until the liquidation process is complete.
The charity’s only project was Travalyst, the duke’s travel initiative which seeks to promote sustainable tourism both with the aviation and the accommodation sectors.
A source explained Travalyst is now operating as an independent non-profit, which will be based in the UK, and all the assets from Sussex Royal will be transferred over.
As the tourism and travel sector has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Travalyst is expected to make an announcement in the future weeks and months about how it will support communities to “rebuild and recover in ways that support their long-term sustainability and resilience”, a source told Yahoo UK.
Harry and Meghan have spent the last few months planning the launch of Archewell, including having conversations with community leaders about Black Lives Matter.
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Recently, they volunteered with ex-gang members and former prisoners at Homeboy industries in LA, and Meghan is understood to be in touch with the spokesman for Althea Bernstein, a mixed race woman who says she was attacked by four white men who set her on fire.
And speaking on what would have been his mother’s 59th birthday, Harry apologised for institutional racism and for his generation’s failure to “right the wrongs of the past”.
Archewell’s name has been taken from the Greek word ‘Arche’ which means ‘source of action’ and is the same word which inspired their son Archie’s name.
