Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s charity to make 'inevitable' redundancies after £1.8m deficit

This left the charity with a deficit of $2.5million (£1.8million), compared to a surplus of $2.4million (£1.8million) the previous year.

Three employees have now lost their positions as the organisation undergoes significant restructuring, it has been confirmed.

Among those departing is Kristen Slevin, who served as director of programmes and operations on a salary of $146,000 (£109,000).

Staff were informed of their redundancies approximately a week ago, with the charity's net assets falling from $10.7million (£8million) to $8.2 million (£6.2million).

The surge in spending represents a 54 per cent jump from the $3.3million (£2.4million) recorded in the previous financial year.

Much of this increase may be attributable to the Sussexes' unofficial overseas visits to Nigeria in May and Colombia in August 2024.

These trips saw the couple undertake engagements resembling official royal tours, including attending a basketball clinic in Lagos and meeting Colombia's vice-president Francia Marquez in Cali.

The 990 tax form, made public on Friday, reveals that "other expenses" ballooned to $2.9million (£2.1million), up from just $1million (£752,000) the year before.

Staff salaries totalled $913,000 (£686,000), whilst the foundation distributed grants of merely $1.25million (£940,000) throughout the year.

One such grant included $50,000 (£37,000) allocated for refurbishing basketball courts in Nigeria.

The organisation announced on Friday that it would be renamed Archewell Philanthropies, adopting a new operating model as a "fiscal sponsor" processing donations.

A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the Mail: "Currently, the same full team remain in place. This move does mean that some staff redundancies are inevitable, particularly with junior admin roles."

The spokesman added: "We will not be discussing these personnel details further, other than to say that we are honoured to have worked with incredibly talented and caring people who dedicate themselves to helping others."

The restructuring is intended to streamline administrative functions and offer greater flexibility for expanding the couple's global charitable activities.

The remaining team members include Harry's longstanding adviser, James Holt, and charity professional Shauna Nep.

The Archewell Foundation was established in 2020, taking its name partly from the couple's son Archie. Harry and Meghan derived the title from "arche", an ancient Greek term meaning "source of action", combined with "well" to represent "a plentiful source or supply, a place we go to dig deep".

Both the Duke and Duchess serve as directors but receive no salary for their roles. According to the tax filing, they each contribute approximately one hour per week to the charity's work.

The rebranded Archewell Philanthropies will maintain its fully charitable, tax-deductible status whilst continuing to focus on mental health, responsible technology and community wellbeing.

Under its incorporation terms, the organisation must direct funds to existing charities and projects rather than launching its own initiatives.