EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Must Commit to 'Radical Transparency' for Archewell Foundation Rebrand to 'Rebuild' Their Tarnished Reputation

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have to radically change the way they do business, both internally and in a public-facing way if they want their new Archewell Philanthropies to avoid total failure, several top public relations gurus and crisis managers tell RadarOnline.com exclusively.

The former royals rebranded their Archewell Foundation five years after its founding amid a range of questionable financial practices and a 2024 tax return showing they spent three million dollars more than the charitable foundation took in.

"A rebrand alone won't do it; that won't rebuild the trust," internationally known celebrity publicist and business strategist, Tracy Lamourie, told Radar.

"If Meghan and Harry want Archewell Philanthropies to actually succeed after all the reports of operating losses and public questions around organizational spending, the best thing they can do for a quick perception turnaround and trust is a much tighter structure and a commitment to radical transparency."

"Can the new venture work? Yes, but only if they stop trying to avoid the story and instead build a new one that makes future scrutiny boring," Lamourie added, and noted, "Boring is trust in charitable work."

"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's deliberate obscurity about their foundation, its intention, and its work has harmed their reputations terribly. Their spending creates the appearance that they are using it as a personal toy chest of interests, and lack basic financial skills," Brian Glicklich, CEO at Digital Strategy Ltd, revealed.

He added: "Too much of the public sees it as a self-serving publicity mechanism for the couple and a means of platforming other moneymaking ventures."

According to Glicklich, there is "a hard way back, but a real one. It starts with authenticity." He advises the publicity-hungry couple needs to drop their Hollywood pursuits and focus more seriously on charitable endeavors.

Harry and Markle reported in prior tax returns that they spent only one hour per week working on their Archewell Foundation.

"They need to become daily hands-on philanthropists for the near-term future, and connect authentically with the real people they help," Glicklich noted. "Not a press conference and not a photo op. They need to find a path within Archewell that really matters to them, and show the world why and how they intend to fulfill their mission personally."

A third PR pro says that Harry and Markle need to stop what they're doing and conduct a top-to-bottom, professional housecleaning of their reputations, given their tarnished standing.

"They need a crisis PR strategy where they rebuild their reputation with the public before they continue to sell products, put out new brands, and new philanthropy organizations," Lauren Cobello, Founder and CEO of Leverage with Media PR, explained.

"They have a lot of distrust from the public, and they need to do some reputation repair before launching anything new at this time."

The prince and the former Suits star have sufficient time now to fully devote themselves to Archewell Philanthropies if that is their desire in the future, given their significant business setbacks in 2025.

Netflix dropped the pair in August from their exclusive five-year production deal. They currently have only a first-look arrangement, with no new projects planned with the streamer.

Markle's As Ever product line of fruit spreads, honey, and wine continues to face claims of poor quality and questionable sales figures, while its future remains uncertain.