Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Admit 'Redundancies' in New Archewell Philanthropies and 'Money Woes' Will Lead to 'Inevitable' Staff Cuts — After Three Employees Were 'Fired'
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have responded to reports they fired staffers just before Christmas.
Dec. 22 2025, Published 7:35 p.m. ET
Embattled Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have gone on the offensive after being labeled scrooges for allegedly firing several employees just before Christmas, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The duo folded their former charitable Archewell Foundation into the new Archewell Philanthropies, resulting in "redundancies" among their staff, but claim their team is still in place.
'Staff Redundancies Are Inevitable'
The couple's Archewell Foundation spent $3million more than it took in during 2024.
The Archewell Foundation's 2024 donations totaled only $2.1million, while the high-flying couple blew through $5.1million in expenses and donations and operated at a significant loss.
With the new name change and direction of Archewell Philanthropies, "Currently, the same full team remains in place,” their spokesperson said.
However, the rep noted, "This move does mean that some staff redundancies are inevitable, particularly with junior admin roles."
Three members of the Archewell Philanthropies team, more than half of their workforce, were reportedly let go in the rebrand, including the charity’s director of programs and operations, Kristin Slevin, who earned $146,000 annually.
New Beginning
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were rebranding the Archewell Foundation as Archewell Philanthropies.
Harry, 41, and Markle, 44, revealed on December 19 they were rebranding their foundation.
"After five beautiful years, the Archewell Foundation is becoming Archewell Philanthropies," they announced about the move.
The couple prominently used their royal titles to promote their "next chapter," which will include their son Archie, 6, and daughter Lilibet, 4.
"This next chapter allows Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to broaden their global philanthropic efforts as a family, with meaningful reach and maximum impact, grounded in the same values, partnerships, and their commitment to show up and do good," the impact statement continued.
Archewell Foundation's Financial Woes
The Archewell Foundation's annual tax returns have been met with financial questions.
Harry and Markle announced the launch of the Archewell Foundation in April 2020, after sensationally stepping down from royal duties and relocating to Southern California to seek "financial independence."
It has been plagued by reports of financial mismanagement since.
The foundation raked in a whopping $13million in donations for 2021, but reported just over $2million in 2022.
Benefactor Fidelity Charitable disclosed a $6million contribution to Archewell, while TisBest Philanthropy reported awarding the foundation $10,050, in separate filings for the 2022–2023 fiscal year.
However, Archewell claimed, in the face of the disclosures, that they received only two $1million grants from anonymous donors during that period, Radar reported.
The year before the massive 2024 loss, the Archewell Foundation's 2023 tax return reported $5.7million in revenue, with all but $700,000 coming from a single mystery benefactor.
Only $1million went to charities after expenses and staff were paid, including a $155,000 donation to consultant Beth Herlihy, who previously served as Markle's assistant private secretary.
Business Failures Piling Up
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Meghan Markle beamed during the couple's quasi-royal tour of Colombia in 2024.
The massive expenses for Archewell's 2024 return may have included Harry and Markle's quasi-royal tours to Nigeria and Colombia.
The visits came with the former Suits actress sporting plenty of outfit changes and a pricey designer wardrobe while mingling with various national leaders, touring schools, and having dinners held in their honor.
Markle and her husband didn't go on extended visits abroad in 2025, where they tried to save their failing business ventures back home.
The two saw Netflix drop its exclusive five-year deal in favor of a first-look arrangement for productions in August.
Markle and Harry also failed miserably with the products the streamer put out, as her With Love, Meghan lifestyle series bombed despite two "seasons," and his Polo docuseries garnered less than 500,000 views in the first half of 2025.
Elsewhere, Markle's As Ever product line of fruit spreads, honey, teas, and wine also fell short in attracting customers.
Data from the brand intelligence platform Similarweb showed Asever.com received 196,831 monthly visits in October, which paled in comparison to Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop.com, which tallied 812,462.
"She is still viewing the figures as her ultimate mortification as she idolizes Paltrow and her success so much," one industry insider blabbed about Markle's As Ever humiliation.
