The Archewell era has arrived.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry have been secretly focusing on the creation of their latest nonprofit company, Archewell, since the beginning of 2020. The charitable effort follows the couple’s departure from the British royal family as working senior royals, a step that resulted in the demise of Sussex Royal.

This latest non-profit “will be in addition to their cause driven work that they remain deeply committed to.”

They announced the name of their new company, Archewell, in early April.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex named it ‘Archewell’ in honor of their son.

The pair have revealed that the Greek term Arche, which means ‘source of action,’ influenced both their new organization and their son Archie, whose full name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

‘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,’ they said.

What is the organization’s plan of action?

The foundation’s “core purpose is to uplift and unite communities—local and global, online and offline—one act of compassion at a time,” according to the Archewell website. “We believe that compassion is the defining cultural force of the 21st century, and through the work of our 501(c)(3), we support a growing community of partner organizations fueling systemic cultural change.”

The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, the Center for Humane Technology, the Loveland Foundation, the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry, and the World Central Kitchen have all announced upcoming ventures and collaborations on the website.

What is the scope of Archewell’s work?

On Sunday, December 20, Archewell officially revealed its first collaboration with the food aid organization World Central Kitchen.

Since it was created by celebrity chef and restauranteur José Andrés during Haiti’s devastating earthquake in 2010, the World Central Kitchen has delivered about 50 million meals across 17 countries. Andrés was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.

According to The Telegraph, the agreement with the foundation would include funds to build four unique Community Relief Centres around the world, the first of which will be located on the Caribbean island of Dominica and will open next year. A third will be in Puerto Rico.

The couple said, “The health of our communities depends on our ability to connect to our shared humanity.”

They had earlier applied for the organization’s trademark.

In June, Harry and Meghan applied for a trademark for “Sussex Royal The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” but the application was not submitted until December 2019. The trademark appeal has been withdrawn as a result of the news regarding the Sussex Royal brand. On their webpage, the Sussexes explain:

“The trademark applications that had been filed as protective measures and that reflected the same standard trademarking requests as done for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed.”

They’ve also applied for new trademark rights for the name Archewell.

Who is employed by Archewell?

Christine Schirmer, the previous head of marketing at Pinterest and former strategic communications boss at Apple, was hired by the Sussexes for Archewell’s publicity team in November, according to People.

James Holt, the couple’s communications lead in the UK, and Toya Holness, who headed communications at the New York City Department of Education, is also on the squad as the Sussexes press secretary. Sunshine Sachs, a public relations firm, would partner with Schirmer, Holt, and Holness to manage Meghan and Harry’s activities in Archewell and beyond.

Harry and Meghan are “very excited” to launch their own charity.

A palace source informed Omid Scobie in June 2019 that the new organisation would “[allow] the Sussexes to do things exactly how they want.” “Their operating style is very different to the Cambridges and so having their own space to think as big as they like, working on a global scale, is perfect for them.”

According to the source, Harry and Meghan are doing huge things in terms of philanthropy. “[The organization] will allow them to do some very ambitious things,”  says the author. According to the source
“Their charity will provide them with an opportunity to create something that will be their defining work—and it’s entirely theirs.”

Meghan and Harry have been seen working at several organizations around California in recent months, including distributing food to those in need through the Project Angel Food organization.