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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle receive apology from anti-monarchy group

A spokesperson for the Sussexes also provided a statement

harry meghan receive apology
Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have received an apology from anti-monarchy group, Republic, after it "falsely claimed" a transfer of funds at Prince Harry and Meghan's former charity was improper.

After a review, the Charity Commission has found that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's former Sussex Royal charity did not act outside charity law in transferring funds to Harry's Travalyst organisation.

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The regulator found that the transfer of funds to MWX – which was formerly Sussex Royal: The Foundation – was in line with the governing document of the Royal Foundation and allowed under charity law.

In a lengthy apology on its website, Republic said: "On 20 July 2020 we falsely claimed that the transfer of funds from The Royal Foundation to Sussex Royal and to Travalyst was improper and likely to be unlawful.

"We also wrote to the Charity Commission expressing the same points and then widely publicised our letter to the U.K. media without knowing whether what we claimed was true. Our intention was to draw attention to the allegations.

"We did not contact The Royal Foundation and/or Sussex Royal before going to the Charity Commission and to the media, which would have been the appropriate action. If we had contacted the organisations directly, we accept we would have realised quickly that there was nothing improper in their operations.

"The Charity Commission has now concluded its review and found that all activities of the charities were lawful and proper. We apologise unreservedly to the charities and personally to The Duke of Sussex for our actions and the public damage that has been caused as a result of widely publicised untrue claims."

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prince harry travalyst edinburgh© Photo: Getty Images

Harry at a Travalyst tourism event in Edinburgh in 2020

The Commission further found that Travalyst could receive charitable funds for the promotion of sustainable travel only, which is a charitable activity in law, and there was no evidence to suggest that any conflicts of interest between MWX and Travalyst were managed inappropriately.

A spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan said: "We are pleased that the Charity Commission has confirmed what we knew from the start: that MWX Foundation, formerly Sussex Royal, complied fully with UK charity law in its handling and transferring of funds and grants.

"Today's update provides complete closure to this review and ultimately underscores both the legitimacy of the former charity and the baselessness of the claims against it."

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