Dec. 22, 2025
Archewell’s Rough Year for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, A Rebrand with No Links
New IRS filings show a difficult year for the Archewell Foundation, with expenses rising to five point one million dollars as donations and grants fell to two point one million. The documents detail salaries, major “other expenses,” confirmed staff reductions, and note that Harry and Meghan take no salary while averaging one hour per week on charity work. We also review GB News reporting on the stated reasons for the Archewell Philanthropies shift, alongside the Sussexes’ new Christmas card featuring Archie and Lilibet.
Then, a quick look at the Archewell website as it pivots to “Archewell Philanthropies,” plus a note on Thomas Markle’s fundraising appeal as he faces mounting medical bills. Tom Sykes questions the rebrand language emphasising “family,” and whether the Sussex children are being folded into the brand in real time.
After the break, Prince George makes his first visit to The Passage, a charity with deep ties to Princess Diana and Prince William, helping prepare for the Christmas lunch for people experiencing homelessness and signing the same visitors book page his father and grandmother signed in nineteen ninety three.
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WEBVTT
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Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Pallas Intrigue. I'm
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your host, Mark Francis. New financial filings reveal a difficult
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year for the Archwell Foundation, with expenses rising sharply as
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income dropped and staff reductions confirmed. The Archwell Foundation reported
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total expenses of five point one million dollars for twenty
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twenty four, while donations and grants fell to two point
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one million dollars, down from five point three million the
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previous year. Grants issued during the year totaled one point
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two five million dollars. The figures published in the charities
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newly released IRS form ninety nine show expenses increased by
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fifty four percent compared to the previous year, with salaries
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listed at nine hundred and thirteen thousand dollars and other
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expenses reaching two point nine million. The documents also confirmed
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three staff members are being let go as part of
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a restructuring process, including Kristen Sleven, the director of Programs
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and Operations, who earned one hundred and forty six thousand dollars.
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A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess said currently the
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same full team remain in place. This move does mean
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that some staff, redundancies are inevitable, particularly with junior admin roles.
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We will not be discussing these personal details further other
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than to say that we are honored to have worked
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with incredibly talented and caring people who dedicate themselves to
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helping others. The filing indicates that Harry and Meghan do
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not take a salary and devote an average of one
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hour per week to the organization. Comen Walker for gb
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News explains, I understand the move aims to streamline the
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organization so that Harry and Meghan have more flexibility to
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devote resources where they are needed. Change is happening now,
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I understand because the Duke and Duchess want to focus
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more time and money on impact rather than the operational
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running of the charity. The change of name was necessary
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to transition the charity from a foundation to a fiscal
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sponsor until The reason the couple wanted to do this
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was to reduce operating costs so more of the charity
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donations could go to those who need it. Prince Harry
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and Meghan found they couldn't scale their impact as fast
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as they would have liked due to administrative barriers. The
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rebrand comes as the couple released their annual Christmas card.
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In an image posted on her Instagram account, Meghan Markel
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is pictured alongside Prince Harry and their children. The photograph
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was taken outdoors in a bright green setting and shows
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the family dressed in soft, coordinated tones. Each parent has
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shown holding one of their children. Archie is seen hugging
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his father around the waist, while Litlabitt holds her mother's
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hands as Megan bends down to gently touch noses with
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her daughter. In keeping with their usual approach to privacy,
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the couple have not shown the children's faces directly. We
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popped on the archbal website this morning at around nine
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am and the site had just a message which reads
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Archibald Philanthropies is home to the charitable work of Prince
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Harry and Meghan, Duke and Dungeons of Sussex. As they
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broadened their global philanthropic efforts for meaningful reachi and maximum impact.
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After five beautiful years, the Archibald Foundation is becoming arch
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Well Philanthropies. This charitable entity allows the couple and their
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children to expand upon their global philanthropic endeavors as a family.
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We found no links or other ways to get more information.
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Thus we won't be able to help Thomas Markle, who
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we thought might benefit from some philanthropy. Thomas has launched
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an online fundraising appeal to help cover mounting medical bills
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following his health crisis in the Philippines. A GoFundMe page
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was set up on December seventh by Sally Preston, a
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friend of Thomas Michael Junior, with an initial target of
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around four thousand, five hundred pounds or six thousand dollars. Reportedly,
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nearly three thousand, seven hundred pounds have already been raised.
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Thomas Michael Junior said that the donations were gradually helping,
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explaining that without insurance, the costs were falling entirely on
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the family. He said treatment in the United States would
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have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, while expenses in
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the Philippines were still expected to reach close to twenty thousand.
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He added that his father is not insured locally and
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that all costs are being paid privately, saying he has
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already used most of his own financial reserves to cover
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the bills. Anyway, we digress, and we wish Megan, Harry
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and their children the best as they conduct philanthropic endeavors
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as a family. Sikes writes the implication that children of
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Archie and Lilibert's ages six and four are already participants
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in global philanthropy and are looking forward to getting more
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involved in it, as opposed to, say, laughing their heads
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off at yelling the word poop is absurd, grandiose, and
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self important. It also raises serious questions about who is
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advising Megan and Harry and whether they are being listened to.
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Publicly positioning very young children as active participants in a
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global philanthropic enterprise without them having any meaningful say in
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it is also, of course, something the Royals do a lot,
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and on Saturday we saw William thrust his son and heir, George,
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fully into the limelight for the first time, as photographs
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and video were released of George making Christmas lunch for
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the homeless at London's Homeless Shelter, The Passage a favorite
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cause of Princess Diana's. Strategically, I think that George, who
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is twelve, helping out at the passage for about an
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hour is much easier for us and him to understand
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than a frankly deluded statement suggesting your four year old
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is already a global philanthropist. Sach ads, it's now undeniable
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that the Sussex children's faces are being revealed incrementally to
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stoke curiosity. Archie and Littlebit are being eased into their
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roles as components of the Sussex brand before our eyes,
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every bit as much as George is, and fairly soon
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now I predict they will be fully unveiled to us
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in service of that cause more Pallas in just a moment.
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We normally leave the children out of the podcast, as
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it's one thing to go out of your way to
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make a cooking show for Netflix and another to be
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a four year old. The Wales family has chosen to
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put Prince George in front of the spotlight. The twelve
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year old made his first visit to the Passage, a
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charity long supported by his father and late grandmother. During
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the visit, George signed the very same page of the
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visitors book that Diana and William signed in nineteen ninety three.
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Witnesses said the moment clearly struck him, with the young
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prince her to say wow okay. McK clarke, the chief
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executive of the Passage, described the visit as a meaningful
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milestone for both father and son. He said it was
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a proud dad moment for William, explaining that the Prince
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of Wales introduced him to George by saying, this is
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the guy I was telling you about. Clark added that William,
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who was eleven when Diana first brought him to the charity,
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was able to tell his son, in effect, that's my mum.
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Clark explained that George was eager to get involved from
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the outset. He told him, your dad's been involved with
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the Passage for many many years. Your grandma took him
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to the Passage when he was about your age. And
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what you're going to be doing today is helping us
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prepare for our Christmas lunch, which is a really important
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day because it's for people who perhaps won't have a
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place that they can call home this Christmas. Clark added,
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I said, we've just got a number of different things
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for you to help us with, so time to roll
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your sleeves up and get stuck in. He was well
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up for it, absolutely, very much like his dad in
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terms of he just wanted to crack on. During the visit, George,
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health volunteers assemble care packages for people unable to attend
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the Christmas lunch. Each package contained around thirty items, including
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ten pound Greggs, vultures, toiletries, socks, and snack bars. He
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also helped decorate a Christmas tree donated by the charity
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from Westminster Abbey. Following a recent carol service hosted by Kate,
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where it told William introduced George to Sarah and Brian,
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a couple who met through the passage after both were
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helped off the streets. Now engaged, they planned to marry
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and hold their wedding reception at the Center. Clarke recalled
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the moment, saying William told them this is Brian, this
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is Sarah. I've known them for years. Brian, Sarah. Can
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you tell the story of what this place means to you?
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Clark said. Sarah spoke movingly about how Christmas had become
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a time of belonging, explaining that while he did not
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have family, this is our family. And there you have it.
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If you'd delight to email USO addresses the Palace Intrigue
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at email dot com. Please follo us at Spotify, Apple
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or the app of your choice and leave us a
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nice review. You're enjoying the show I'm Mark Francis My
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thanks to John McDermott. This is powers, intrigue and good terms.
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129
00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:06.360
130
00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:10.399
131
00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.720
132
00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:17.360
133
00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.800
134
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:25.759
135
00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:29.360
136
00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.399
137
00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.240
138
00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:39.399
139
00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:42.000
140
00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.480
141
00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:47.560
142
00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:49.639
143
00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.839
144
00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:55.040
145
00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:58.879
146
00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:01.800
147
00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:04.079
148
00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:06.480
149
00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:08.959
150
00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:13.040
