Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s foundation scrutinized over political ties

[KENNEDY FELTON]

A new report from the New York Post shows Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s charity, the Archewell Foundation, has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to individuals with Democratic ties, raising questions from critics about the foundation’s political neutrality.

Founded in 2020, the Archewell Foundation describes its mission as “show up, do good.” In 2023, it reported raising 5.3 million dollars, with 1.3 million going toward initiatives focused on mental health, digital safety, and education.

Its largest donation last year was 250,000 dollars, and went to the Women’s Wellness Space, a nonprofit founded by Ashley Biden, the daughter of former President Joe Biden.

Additional contributions included 50,000 dollars to Humanity Crew, a nonprofit supporting aid workers in Israel and Gaza, and 90,000 dollars to The Markup, a newsroom investigating the impact of technology.

The tax records also show that in 2022 and 2023, Archewell paid Jiore Craig, an independent contractor who specializes in media strategy and online disinformation, a combined 266,000 dollars.

She previously worked for Greenberg Quinlan and Rosner, a research firm known for its work with Democratic campaigns. In 1992, the firm worked as a pollster and strategist for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign.

For Craig, she served as a senior advisor and authored a report on digital safety, focusing on the role of technology in public discourse.

Some critics have pointed to these connections as evidence of partisan influence, including Nile Gardiner of the Conservative Heritage Foundation, who called for congressional scrutiny of the donations.

But a spokesperson for Markle and Prince Harry pushed back against these claims, telling The Post that the foundation is nonpartisan and focused on social impact, not political endorsements, saying, “To suggest they’re trying to curry favor with the Democratic Party — simply because a donation went to Ashley Biden’s nonpartisan nonprofit focused on women’s mental health, or because they hired a consultant specializing in digital safety — is misguided at best.”

This isn’t the first time Meghan and Prince Harry’s public engagements have drawn political attention. In 2021, they met with prominent Democratic leaders in New York, including Governor Kathy Hochul and then-Mayor Bill de Blasio at the One World Trade Center Observatory to honor the memory of 9/11. The meeting was part of their broader itinerary, which included attending the Global Citizen Live event in Central Park to promote global vaccine equality.

And in 2020, the couple released a video encouraging Americans to vote in the upcoming presidential election. While they did not endorse a specific candidate, their emphasis on rejecting hate speech and misinformation was widely interpreted as a subtle critique of President Trump.

Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine, told The Guardian that same year, “[Prince Harry] may be thousands of miles away, but yet he is still a member of the royal family, the Queen’s grandson, and it’s something he wouldn’t do were he still in the UK.”

Members of the British royal family typically avoid political affiliations, though the Sussexes no longer represent monarchy in an official capacity. While the Archewell Foundation’s donations have drawn attention for their connections with Democratic-aligned figures, the foundation states that its mission is rooted in social impact rather than politics.