Royal charity spent 98% of its cash raised in one year on paying just 10 staff, probe reveals 

A Royal charity that has partnered with Prince Harry’s life coaching firm paid its staff 98 per cent of the money it raised in a year, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) brought in £796,106 from donors but paid out £787,314 in staff costs to its ten employees in the 12 months to March 2021.

Over half of the cash went to its five most senior executives who earned £420,000 between them, Charity Commission accounts show.

Chris Kelly, the chief executive, earns at least £140,000 – a similar salary to the boss of the RSPCA, despite the animal charity raising some £130million in donations and employing nearly 2,000 staff.

The figures raise questions over how much emphasis the organisation, with the Queen as patron, puts on charitable endeavours.

The QCT was set up to provide funding, tools and support for young Commonwealth leaders to help them transform their communities across agriculture, education, employability and more.

The QCT has already raised eyebrows for promoting online coaching company BetterUp, which employs Prince Harry as its chief impact officer. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been president and vice president of QCT before they stepped down from royal duties a year ago.

Now it has entered a partnership with BetterUp and runs testimonials on its website describing Prince Harry’s business as ‘truly phenomenal’, the Observer reported.

David Haigh, chief executive of London consultancy Brand Finance, said the QCT should have carried out a careful due diligence process to ensure the charitable partnership was appropriate.

He said: ‘Any company which is supported by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust is going to gain credibility, and this will be of economic value.’

Chris Kelly, the chief executive, earns at least £140,000 – a similar salary to the boss of the RSPCA, despite the animal charity raising some £130million in donations and employing nearly 2,000 staff

But QCT told the Mail the BetterUp deal was ‘a generous one-off gift from Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, as the Former President of QCT, in order to support young people’. Although BetterUp is providing support to young leaders for free at the QCT, it usually charges up to £360 per month for its virtual coaching services. It comes after the QCT made supermodel Naomi Campbell its first Global Ambassador last year, despite her own charity, Fashion for Relief (FFR), being under investigation.

The Charity Commission is probing allegations that FFR spent £1.6million on a fundraising gala in Cannes, France, yet gave only £5,000 to good causes over the same period. The Queen launched the QCT in 2018. The next year it was given a one-off £2.7million donation from the Queen’s Trust, which then closed.

But the latest figures show it is eating into that donation to keep afloat, with total expenditures last year at £1.5million despite the small amounts raised.

A spokesman for the charity said: ‘The impact of Covid-19 has been felt across the charitable sector – and impacted fundraising for many – QCT included.’