Prince Harry fires back at 'insulting' charity complaint involving Kate and William

Prince Harry has fired back at "insulting" claims about his charity after it emerged a complaint about transfer of funds could be probed. The Duke of Sussex, 35, has branded the allegations by anti-monarchy campaign group Republic as "deeply offensive." The group has appealed to the Charity Commission to look into two cash injections it claims were sent from Prince William and Kate Middleton's charitable foundation to Harry and wife Meghan Markle's now defunct Sussex Royal charity.

Harry had previously worked with the Royal Foundation alongside William and Kate before him and Meghan decided to set up their own charity. The couple, who now live in LA with son Archie Harrison, received an “unrestricted grant” of £145,000 from William’s Royal Foundation to start up Sussex Royal, it has been claimed. They also allegedly received a further £151,856 for their sustainable travel initiative Travalyst, which is now a private limited company.

Graham Smith, from anti-monarchy group Republic, wrote in a letter to the Charity Commission this week: "In both instances, it appears the only rationale for the decision was the personal relationship between two patrons, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge.

"Neither patrons are trustees of the Royal Foundation, so there is also a question mark over the independence of the trustees of the Royal Foundation.

"The Sussex Royal charity has since decided to close, and it is reported that they will transfer all their funds to Travalyst.

"Again, this appears to be a personal decision by a trustee [the Duke of Sussex] to fund another of his projects, rather than to ensure the funds are being used for the original purposes for which they were donated."

However last night, a spokesperson for Prince Harry told Sky News the claims were "salaciously created" and "false".

They said: "To this point, it is deeply offensive to today see false claims made about the Duke of Sussex and his charitable work.

"It is both defamatory and insulting to all the outstanding organisations and people he has partnered with."

The Duke of Sussex’s legal team added: “Both The Charity Commission’s own statement today, as well as that of The Royal Foundation, state there is no determination of wrongdoing here.

“All of the duke’s charitable activities are fully transparent as well as compliant with Charity Commission guidelines.

"They were fully in line with governance requirements and were reported transparently.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not respond to requests for comment from the Mirror. The Charity Commission last night confirmed it would examine the claims. A spokeswoman for the commission said: “We have received a complaint on this issue.

“As with all concerns raised with us we will assess the information provided to determine whether or not there is a role for the Commission.

"We have not made any determination of wrongdoing.”

Harry and Meghan, who now live in Los Angeles, are in the process of setting up their new charity Archewell. The name is derived from the Greek word arche, meaning “sources of action”, and the inspiration for the name of their son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.