When all is said and done about Sentebale and we’re months or years past this catastrophe, I’m quite sure that we’ll learn that Prince William had a hand in what happened. I’m not saying William is completely responsible, mostly because I don’t think William is smart or patient enough to use Sophie Chandauka in some kind of long game. But I think William and his allies (notably Iain Rawlinson) saw an opening with Chandauka and they exploited it to help her destroy Sentebale. William and his allies have been trying to do the same with African Parks, the massive NGO on which Prince Harry serves as a board member. If you ask me, William and his allies are going to pull some massively damaging shenanigans with the Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027 as well. All of this is because William is jealous of Harry and every single one of Harry’s accomplishments. Well, according to Richard Eden at the Daily Mail, Harry should really regret not sticking around the UK so he and William could still have a foundation together or something.
He is, it’s said, so distraught over what he sees as the ‘hostile takeover’ of Sentebale that there’s ‘no way in hell’ he will work with the charity again, even though it has, for 19 years, been the cause closest to his heart. But, when his rage finally abates, will Prince Harry pause to consider what he might have achieved in tandem with his brother?
The question is prompted by the remarkable performance of the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, originally the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry when they established it in 2009. In its current guise – which took shape after Megxit, when Harry and Meghan announced they would form their own charitable organisation, Archewell – the foundation has just had its latest financial report published by the Charity Commission.
This records that it raised £12.2million in income last year, compared with just under £8million the year before. This stunning result – achieved in a very challenging financial environment – is attributed to what is described as ‘an updated fundraising strategy’. More than £7million came in donations and legacies, with £2.6million of that coming from the American Friends of the Royal Foundation – the best part of £1million more than American Friends gave in 2023.
Since 2022, the Royal Foundation has, of course, been entirely separate from the Earthshot Prize, which was established by William and Catherine ‘to find, support and celebrate those who turn bold ideas into real solutions to repair our planet’. The Earthshot’s total income for 2024 was £23.5million, which included a 68 per cent increase in donations, up from £12.8million to £21.4million.
So the combined income for William and Catherine’s two organisations in just one year totals a staggering £35million.
It’s a figure which must now seem poignantly – and impossibly – remote to Harry and Meghan. They’ve yet to unveil Archewell’s income for 2024, but in 2023 the figure was $5.7million (£4.25million).
I don’t understand why Eden fails to mention the healthy financials of Invictus? If we’re doing compare-and-contrast, and William is being credited with Earthshot’s finances, then why not mention Invictus’s finances too? Or bring up the fact that Harry stepped down from Sentebale specifically because Chandauka was misappropriating funds, and after she blew through hundreds of thousands of dollars, she appointed Rawlinson to Sentebale’s board?
Anyway, I actually don’t think these numbers really tell the whole story. Sure, it looks like William and Kate are “good” at raising money… but what are they doing with it? What is the Royal Foundation’s signature achievement? On the rare occasions when we hear about “their foundation is setting up such-and-such project” it’s always some stupidly bureaucratic scheme to give the peasants £500 once every two years or something.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
