Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Archewell Donations Drop By $11 Million, A Reflection Of Declining Popularity: Expert
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Archewell Foundation saw a massive drop in donations.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released an update about their charitable organization, the Archewell Foundation, on Tuesday. Based on the update, there had been an $11 million decline in donations as it only received $2 million in 2022 compared to $13 million in 2021, CBS News reported.
The public filing also showed that the total expenses exceeded the revenue by over $674,000. Its revenue in 2021 had exceeded $9 million.
Kinsey Schofield, royal commentator and author of "R is for Revenge Dress," weighed in on the issue. She joined TalkTV's Rosanna Lockwood on her program "Primetime." The latter mentioned that the drop in donations meant they were losing popularity in the United States, and Schofield agreed.
"I absolutely agree with you," Schofield said. "I do think that's a reflection of their [declining popularity]. Statistically, there's proof that there's a loss in popularity here in the States. But I think this is another great point."
She added that the video was a reminder that the Sussexes also do charities because they were allegedly complaining about their circumstances most of the time instead of talking about the real problems that other people encounter. Schofield claimed this was probably the reason there was a decline in donations.
"But when you spend so much time complaining about your circumstances, instead of talking about other people's real problems, instead of talking about homelessness like Prince William or the trauma that could happen when you become a mother for the first time like the Princess of Wales. Harry and Meghan are so fixated on their own problems that it's hard to invest in them," she added. "It's hard to invest in their charities because they spend so much time talking about themselves."
When asked if the slick video highlighting the Archewell Foundation's accomplishments was a PR stunt, Schofield said it could be. The royal correspondent was convinced that Prince Harry and Markle were trying to distract the people from their professional failures and the issues surrounding the royal family. Kate Middleton recently released a family video for her Baby Bank initiative with her three kids -- Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5.
"But the videos are incredibly different, you were seeing so much authenticity from the kids. These unscripted moments with Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte off the cam, their humor," Schofield said while comparing the videos from the two royal families. "And then there's this very glossy, you know, shielded video of Meghan and Harry, obviously they don't give us access to the kids unless in Oprah Winfrey or Netflix when they're with the camera crew, but you just see so much more sincerity from the royal family than Harry and Meghan."
Meanwhile, an insider clarified to TMZ that despite the declining donations, Archewell is not in dire straits as the organization is not a corporation, and its earnings can't be measured in profits and losses. Sources told the outlet that the charity ended the year with over $8 million in the bank.