Meghan Markle, Prince Harry announce new foundation and name

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have revealed the name of their newly announced foundation as they embark on post-royal life.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have today revealed they have plans to start a new non-profit organisation called Archewell.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — who recently moved to Los Angeles to start a new life after relinquishing their roles as working members of the royal family — said they “look forward” to setting up the foundation.

The foundation will serve to replace their Sussex Royal brand, after Queen Elizabeth II reportedly ordered them to stop using the word “royal.”

Details about the project were first reported in the Daily Telegraph (UK), which obtained paperwork the couple filed in the US last month showing they were looking to create their own charity, volunteering service and wide-ranging website.

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Meghan and Harry have announced their new foundation. Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP

For now, the pair are focusing their attentions on the coronavirus crisis, they said.

“Like you, our focus is on supporting efforts to tackle the global COVID-19 pandemic but faced with this information coming to light, we felt compelled to share the story of how this came to be,” they said in a statement.

Harry, 35 and Meghan, 38, also revealed that Arche, the Greek word in the organisation meaning sources of action, was also the inspiration behind their 10-month-old son’s name, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

“We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matter,” the statement said.

The couple recently relocated to California. Picture: Tolga Akmen/ AFP

“Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.”

Last week it was reported that the couple fled Canada amid the coronavirus pandemic and set up home close to Hollywood where they are currently in lockdown.

They finished their final duty as senior members of the royal family last month at the Commonwealth Day Service with other members of the family, following their announcement they were stepping back in January.

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reproduced here with permission