‘Ineffective. They don’t seem credible. Why so little work?’ Damning statement about Harry and Meghan from the German documentary maker who went to Montecito to find out the truth about the couple

As the turkey is cleared away after Thanksgiving in Montecito, you wonder if Prince Harry and Meghan are feeling grateful for their fabulous, gilded life — or rather uncomfortable.

Because again storm clouds may gather.

Meghan’s yet-to-be-launched US lifestyle brand Riviera Orchard has just asked for a three-month extension to make corrections to her trademark application, even as the air date of her Netflix cooking series looms early in the new year.

Meanwhile, Sussexes’ charity Archewell will file a tax return in the US which will reveal the size of its donations and payouts – an annual event that always attracts huge attention.

More importantly, a major documentary titled Harry: The Lost Prince will be broadcast on television in Germany on Tuesday.

The 45-minute film has been in the making for over a year and will explore, among other things, whether Harry and Meghan have managed to ‘find freedom’ and launch themselves as a financially independent, globally influential entity.

The answer to this last question, according to documentary maker Ulrike Grunewald, one of Germany’s most experienced royal reporters, is a resounding ‘No.’

As Ms Grunewald, host of the long-running German news and current affairs show Heute-Journal (Today-Journal), and royal correspondent since 1987, when she accompanied the then Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their visit to Germany, told Email Exclusive: ‘Harry and Meghan have set the bar very high. They want to be global benefactors who create tangible change. So far they have not lived up to this image at all.’

There was a lot of goodwill for the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf before reports cost German taxpayers 40 million euros. Harry and Meghan were pictured at the games last year

Ms. Grunewald traveled to Montecito to try to interview the couple and their friends and discovered that the Sussexes, despite their wealth and royal lineage, do not appear to be fully integrated into the community’s most elite circles.

She said: ‘On average, the millionaires and billionaires who come to live here pay eight to nine million euros for a house.

‘Cultural life is very lively, but everything often takes place in private and Harry and Meghan rarely participate in these activities. It seems like they’ve isolated themselves a lot.”

The Sussexes’ neighbour, Richard Mineards, tells Mrs Grunewald that the couple do not appear to have particularly deep roots in the area, as they are rarely seen in the town – only occasional trips to the local market or walks, always with security in tow. .

“Sometimes you see her at the farmer’s market or with a dog, but generally you don’t see her and you just don’t see him much. It’s a shame. This is a wonderful place.’

Ms. Grunewald was further intrigued by their Archewell Foundation, which launched to great fanfare in 2020 as their flagship philanthropic endeavor.

“What surprised me most was how ineffectively organized Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation is,” she told the Mail. ‘The number of donations has fallen drastically in one year: from 13 million dollars in 2021 to two million declared dollars in 2022/2023.

‘According to their own documents, Harry and Meghan only work one hour a week for the Archewell Foundation – why so little?’

In her documentary, Ulrike Grunewald went to the couple’s hometown of Montecito to interview friends and get a closer look at the Invictus operation.

Ms Grunewald also wanted to take a closer look at the Invictus operation.

While there was an outpouring of goodwill for the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf last year – an uplifting event attended by 500 disabled servicemen and Meghan, who supported her husband – this was later damaged by reports suggesting that the games would would have cost taxpayers no less than 40 million euros. to attract.

‘A year before the Invictus Games, Harry and Meghan visited the city [Dusseldorf] for a day. I reported for [German TV network] ZDFRoyal at the time and wanted to know more. How is such an event organized and who pays for it?

“I think Harry is probably little more than a figurehead, even though he represents the cause in a very credible way.”

The next Invictus Games are coming soon – in February in Whistler, Vancouver.

In the manner of the Germans, the Canadian government has pledged almost £20 million to organize it. The rest of the undisclosed budget will have to be covered by commercial partnerships. Arms manufacturer Boeing will continue to act as sponsor, just as it did for the Games in Düsseldorf.

Disturbingly for Harry, late last year the event’s CEO, Peter Lawless, a lawyer and perhaps Canada’s most respected Olympic and Paralympic administrator, abruptly left his job.

Insiders claimed Mr Lawless, who was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal by Harry’s grandmother the Queen in 2012, was sacked and staff morale was ‘at rock bottom’.

Meghan’s unlaunched lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard has just requested a three-month extension to make corrections to her trademark application

Around the same time, Chief Commercial Officer Bill Cooper also left his post.

And if the event takes place in Birmingham in July 2027, it will receive around £26 million from British taxpayers, which was already allocated by the British government in Jeremy Hunt’s budget in March this year. Other funding will come from the charity’s commercial partners.

At the time of the Budget, Lord West of Spithead, former Admiral of the Royal Navy, expressed surprise that defense spending had not been increased at such a globally difficult time, even though the government had found money for Invictus.

He said: ‘Invictus is a great thing and it is important to invest in our ex-servicemen, but I think the government has “lost the plot” when it comes to what is crucial for defence.’

Newsweek’s royal reporter Jack Royston agrees, telling the documentary that the budget for the event is a “huge amount of money” and reflects Birmingham being “nearly bankrupt” after hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

But he also adds: ‘I believe that Invictus is real and authentic work. Harry is completely committed to it.”

It seems that in any endeavor there is some disconnect between the couple’s charitable ambitions and the outcome.

Ms Grunewald said: ‘During the year we worked on this film, there was a noticeable shift in strategy from Harry and Meghan. They started as a power duo in their new life in California.

The Duke of Sussex speaks during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf

‘Now they mainly appear separately, because they failed to create a functioning image together. They have come to Earth.

‘I was curious to see if Harry and Meghan’s strategies for an independent life worked. After four years the results are very mixed.’

But despite the commercial setbacks, says Jack Royston, the prince seems genuinely committed to his new life with Meghan in California.

‘When Meghan came over, [Harry] realized she was the one and wanted to hold her,” he says. ‘He didn’t want to lose her. He was constantly afraid that she would leave. He treated her a bit like a Ming vase that he doesn’t want to knock over.’

And Mrs Grunewald adds: ‘To be honest, from his point of view, Harry wanted the best for his own family. And no doubt he has now gained valuable experience in California and learned what it means to stand on his own two feet. He would never have succeeded in the close circle of the Royal House.

‘He now has to decide for himself what he has to offer to the people he wants to inspire for his company and charities. He is still surrounded by a certain royal glamour, but in the harsh atmosphere of the Hollywood industry this may diminish.

‘People have long memories and few revelations can be more damaging to their image than the private information that Harry and Meghan themselves have made public in recent years.

‘Although surveys in Britain and the US have shown their high popularity of over 90 percent, they are now in the lower range of the popularity scale. Of [some surveys showing] With an approval rating of just under 30 percent, it will be difficult to do good business.

“They don’t seem credible, which is backed up by their disastrous poll numbers.”

There was no response from the Sussexes to the documentary.

Although the Duchess gave an interview to Marie Claire magazine this week while co-hosting a dinner at a restaurant in Venice Beach, California, for women who had fled Afghanistan. The Archewell Foundation has a welcome project that supports programs for resettled women, with eleven locations in nine states.

Perhaps the next accounts for the charity will reflect a greater commitment of time to Archewell duties, as both have undertaken numerous charitable activities, including tours of Nigeria and Colombia.

Clearly the work continues for the Sussexes.

• Additional reporting: Rob Hyde in Germany