Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have received a public apology

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may have stepped down as royal family members and relocated to California, but that certainly doesn't stop them from making headlines.

This past year has been no exception as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed the news that they would not be returning to royal duties, took part in a tell-all interview with Oprah and launched a documentary series on mental health.

They are also expecting their second child, a baby girl who according to experts could arrive at any moment.

This week, the couple made headlines as they received a public apology from anti-monarchy group, Republic.

The group 'falsely claimed' that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's transfer of funds from Sussex Royal to Travalyst was improper and likely to be unlawful.

This week however after a review by the Charity Commission proved that the Duke and Duchess did not act outside charity law, the group made a public apology.

'On 20 July 2020 we falsely claimed that the transfer of funds from The Royal Foundation to Sussex Royal and to Travalyst was improper and likely to be unlawful,' Republic posted in a statement on its website. 'We also wrote to the Charity Commission expressing the same points and then widely publicised our letter to the U.K. media without knowing whether what we claimed was true. Our intention was to draw attention to the allegations.'

The statement continued: 'We did not contact The Royal Foundation and/or Sussex Royal before going to the Charity Commission and to the media, which would have been the appropriate action. If we had contacted the organisations directly, we accept we would have realised quickly that there was nothing improper in their operations.

'The Charity Commission has now concluded its review and found that all activities of the charities were lawful and proper. We apologise unreservedly to the charities and personally to The Duke of Sussex for our actions and the public damage that has been caused as a result of widely publicised untrue claims.'

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not directly responded, a spokesperson has announced the following statement on their behalf:

'We are pleased that the Charity Commission has confirmed what we knew from the start: that MWX Foundation, formerly Sussex Royal, complied fully with UK charity law in its handling and transferring of funds and grants.

'Today's update provides complete closure to this review and ultimately underscores both the legitimacy of the former charity and the baselessness of the claims against it.'

We will continue to update this story.