Harry And Meghan's Excuse For Archewell Foundation Delinquency Doesn't Cut It With Critics

The Archewell Foundation, the charitable organization founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, hit a temporary snag in its operations recently. In early May, the foundation got notification that the California attorney general's Registry of Charities and Fundraisers had listed it as delinquent for reportedly not paying the required fees and filing the required reports. According to the California Office of the Attorney General website, any charity that's been named delinquent, "may not operate or solicit donations."

Harry and Meghan have a seemingly endless number of online fans and critics, many of whom responded to the news of the charity's temporary delinquency. So even though updates from the attorney general confirmed that the situation had been fixed and that the foundation is currently in good standing, critics online still had thoughts. "You don't get a letter like that until you're pretty seriously delinquent. That was not a first notice," one person posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Another said of the delinquency, "Means they are grifters!"

The reason for the delinquency of the Archewell Foundation was reportedly down to a check that got lost in the mail. Though some people online were surprised that there would even be a physical check to mail. While the issue is now settled and the foundation is listed as "current" on the California Attorney General office website, it seems unlikely that there won't be conversations behind the scenes at the foundation. One person seemed to think that this situation could trigger another changeup in leadership at Archewell Foundation, posting: "[S]eems like an in-house problem, or lack of supervision within the Foundation! 1 hr. per week[.] Another one's about to lose their head, and their job!"

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle founded the organization, according to past IRS filings, they claimed to work one hour a week on the foundation. They have other executives in place that seem to be in charge of the day to day.

After Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties, they have been building their lives on their own away from the royal family both literally and figuratively. And even if Harry and Meghan don't spend that much time every week working for the Archewell Foundation, it seems to be a large part of their post-royal brand. Negative attention, even if it was over something as simple as a mail mix-up, can't be what they want with their foundation.