Sunday Express

Sussexes’ old charity under new scrutiny

- By Tony Whitfield

THE DUKE and Duchess of Sussex’s former charity Sussex Royal is being reviewed by the sector’s watchdog.

The Charity Commission has been studying how it was run and whether it complied with charity law.

The regulatory compliance case is looking at how it was closed down in July after Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, moved to the US.

Sussex Royal was founded in July 2019, when the couple decided to break away from the Royal Foundation, the charity they previously ran with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have since created the Archewell organisati­on, which was founded last

‘Our regulatory compliance case is ongoing’

October and is named after their son, Archie, who turns two in May.

A spokesman for the Charity Commission said: “Our regulatory compliance case is ongoing. We cannot comment further.”

A regulatory compliance case falls short of a formal investigat­ion, but if the regulator finds wrongdoing it can then issue formal regulatory advice or use a power such as an official warning.

Lawyers for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said the charity had been managed by a board of trustees, which made decisions based on its constituti­on and charity laws.

They added: “Therefore, any suggestion of mismanagem­ent or decision-making being handled in a ‘rash’ fashion solely by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be entirely false.”

THE PAST 12 months have tested us in ways we could never have imagined and we have all had to adapt to the incredible challenges presented by the pandemic.

Children and young people, in particular, have had to adjust to new ways of learning and socialisin­g while coping with uncertaint­y and worry. Many have shown remarkable resilience but a significan­t number have really struggled with their mental wellbeing.

As the Sunday Express campaign on Generation Lockdown has rightly highlighte­d, the impact has taken its toll on some. This is something I take extremely seriously.

That is why, on Friday, I announced that we are investing £79million in young people’s mental health services.this funding will grant almost 22,500 more young individual­s access to services such as talking and cognitive behavioura­l therapies, and will enable 2,000 more to access eating disorder services. New funding will also allow us to expand mental health support teams in schools.

We are investing more than any government in the world in mental health services. I urge you all – parents, relatives, teachers, Express readers – if you are concerned about the mental health of a child or young person, reach out and access support.

We are here to help you.

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