Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have formally axed their royal charitable foundation today in another symbolic split from the Royal family.

Documents filed at Companies House confirm they are winding up the company behind the Sussex Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The full details of the documents have not yet been revealed, but are expected to appear on the Companies House website in the next five days.

After announcing they were launching a new charity Archewell in the US back in April, the couple said they were ‘looking forward’ to getting started with the foundation, which will replace their Sussex Royal brand.

Harry and Meghan also revealed the Greek word in the project Arche – meaning source of action – was the inspiration behind the name of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

The final stage in Sussex Royal’s closure begins amid the fallout from the Finding Freedom biography, which has exposed the resentment and mistrust that led to Harry and Meghan quitting as working royals.

The Companies House schedule reveals that three separate reports have been filed today – a special resolution to wind up the company, the appointment of a voluntary liquidator and a declaration of solvency.

A statement under each filing states: ‘This document is being processed and will be available in 5 days’.

The move to dissolve the Foundation had not been unexpected and follows the Queen’s decision that Harry and Meghan can no longer use the word ‘royal’ in their branding.

The Sussex foundation was only incorporated on July 1 last year following Meghan and Harry’s decision to split from the foundation that they previously shared with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

It has never filed accounts as it is a new company so the assets it holds have not been revealed.

Documents filed for the Sussex foundation on July 7 gave a new service address for Harry and Meghan at Buckingham Palace, following their decision to base themselves in Los Angeles.

It also emerged that an error at Companies House had meant that the prefix of Meghan’s name was initially filed as ‘Dr’ even though she has never been a doctor. The error was quickly corrected after it was spotted.

Harry and Meghan have been reported to be planning to shift their emphasis on to helping other charitable endeavours and good causes such as their new Archewell foundation which still has to be properly launched.

They are also said to be keen on promoting Harry’s eco-tourism scheme ‘Travalyst’

The company – which has been set up independently – hopes to help the hard-hit tourism industry survive the coronavirus crisis and to promote more sustainable forms of travel and holidays.

It brings together some of the biggest operators in the travel industry – including Visa, Booking.com and Skyscanner – to help travellers pick low carbon options more easily and chose destinations that will have more benefit to local communities.

Responding to media reports back in April about Archewell, the duke and duchess said they were focusing their efforts on the coronavirus pandemic but felt ‘compelled’ to reveal details of the venture.

‘Like you, our focus is on supporting efforts to tackle the global Covid-19 pandemic but faced with this information coming to light, we felt compelled to share the story of how this came to be.

‘Before SussexRoyal, came the idea of Arche – the Greek word meaning source of action.

‘We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters.

‘Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon.

‘We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.’

The couple moved to Los Angeles with baby Archie to start their new life after they were forced to choose between financial independence or remaining as working members of the royal family.

Last week, Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, reported the Sussexes and the Cambridges’ foundations to the Charity Commission for alleged ‘inappropriate use of charitable funds, conflicts of interest and lack of independence’.

The claims were made after Sussex Royal received a six-figure grant from William and Kate’s foundation.

Harry’s fledgling not-for-profit sustainable travel organisation Travalyst also received funds from the Cambridges’ foundation, and it has received the assets of Sussex Royal.

His lawyers are to formally write to Republic to contest its claims and said the duke’s charity work was ‘his life’s focus’ and the allegations were ‘deeply offensive’.

Source: Daily Mail