Dukes divide Diana Memorial Fund as they go their separate ways

THE Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex have agreed to split their mother’s memorial fund between them as they finalise details of their separate working lives.

A signed official agreement, between the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the now-defunct Sussex Royal Foundation, sees the Diana Memorial Fund divided between the brothers’ independent charitable activities.

For years, they have used the fund to benefit their joint passions.

The new arrangement forms part of the final settlement between the Cambridges and Sussexes as they divide their working lives. In 2013, Princes William and Harry – then working together on the Royal Foundation – agreed to take joint control of the fund to protect its name and see its future income used for good causes.

The fund received £21,346 in 2019, holding steady from £21,583 in 2018.

Accounts from the foundation, de- tailing the financial activities of the past year, state that, as of December, future funds would be divided equally between the late Diana, Princess of Wales’ two sons to spend on their independent philanthropic interests.

The Sussexes, now based in Los Angeles, closed their Sussex Royal organisation in the UK to focus on the Us-based “non-profit” Archewell.

The Royal Foundation annual report states: “On Dec 18 2019, an agreement was signed with the Sussex Royal Foundation by which The Royal Foundation intended to grant half of the net future proceeds received by the Diana Fund to Sussex Royal.

“In March 2020 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would no longer be operating Sussex Royal as their primary philanthropic vehicle in the UK and accordingly their share of the net income will instead be donated to another charity of The Duke of Sussex’s choosing.”

A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said his half would be donated to Sentebale, the charity he set up in memory of his mother to support children affected by

HIV in Lesotho and Botswana. The funds will not go to Archewell or Travalyst Limited, his private company based on ecotravel, because neither are Ukregistered charities.

The report notes that Sussex Royal received £145,000 to fund its set-up and launch, with a further £100,000 to Travalyst. Amy Pickerill, the Duchess of Sussex’s former assistant private secretary, joined the Royal Foundation in April as director of the Earthshot Prize, the Duke of Cambridge’s next major conservation project.

Noting that “following a review into the structure of The Royal Foundation, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to leave the charity in order to set up their own philanthropic organisation”, the report confirms that several of their projects – particularly the Duchess’s work with the Hubb Community Kitchen and the Duke’s on youth violence – will remain with the organisation.

Others, including Coach Core and Endeavour, will become independent charities or move to the separate Invictus Games Foundation.

In highlights of the year, the report says the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s inaugural King’s Cup Regatta on the Isle of Wight raised £490,000 to be split between seven charities.