Meghan Markle and Prince Harry pay nearly £90k to Michelle Obama's press chief

01 April 2023 , 23:53

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Archewell Foundation paid nearly £90,000 for the adviser (Image: PA)

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry paid almost £90,000 to Michelle Obama's former press secretary, tax records have revealed.

The money was paid by the Archewell Foundation - Prince Harry and Meghan’s charitable organisation - to a PR company run by top US political spin doctor Katie McCormick Lelyveld.

Ms Lelyveld served as the former First Lady's press secretary from 2007 to 2011.

She has also been a PR adviser to Democratic grandees Hillary Clinton and former presidential candidate John Kerry.

The tax returns for Archewell show that £89,000 was paid to Ms Lelyveld’s company KMLSA LLC for “strategic support for social impact PR” in 2021.

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The Duchess is believed to be close friends with Michelle Obama (Getty Images)

KMLSA describes itself as the company that “global leaders turn to navigate challenges with reputational, political, philanthropic, legal and financial lenses” and boasts that it has “decades of dynamic experience with influential leaders”, the Sun reports.

Following her departure from the White House, Mrs Obama praised Ms Lelyveld for her “intelligence, grace, quick wit, humour and friendship”.

In 2021, Meghan reportedly cold-called a number of US senators on their personal phones to press them over a law for paid family leave.

Senator Shelley Capito, a Republican, said at the time that she had no idea how the Duchess got her number.

"I'm in my car. I'm driving. It says caller ID blocked. Honestly... I thought it was Senator Manchin," the Sen. Capito told the BBC. "His calls come in blocked. And she goes 'Senator Capito?' I said, 'Yes.' She said, 'This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex."

The sister of US president Joe Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, has urged Meghan to enter the political arena, while her friend and biographer, Omid Scobie, previously said the actress “has her eyes set on the US presidency”.

A source told the Sun that the sizeable Archewell payment was not linked to Ms Lelyveld’s professional political work, but that she had been hired as an “experienced strategic adviser”.

Will Maule