Prince Harry is facing serious allegations from Dr. Sophie Chandauka, the former chairwoman of Sentebale, a charity he co-founded in 2006, who accused the Duke of Sussex of orchestrating "harassment and bullying at scale" following his sudden resignation from the organization.
In an interview aired Sunday on Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Chandauka said: "At some point on Tuesday, Prince Harry authorized the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world without informing me or my country directors, or my executive director. And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their family? That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale."
Prince Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho resigned from Sentebale on March 25, issuing a joint statement: "With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. It is devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation."
Chandauka has disputed the manner in which the resignations were communicated. While a source close to the trustees told CNN that letters were sent to Chandauka and the board on March 10, Sentebale stated there was no formal resignation letter from the patrons, adding confusion to the timeline of events.
In her interview with The Financial Times, Chandauka alleged that Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso "want to force a failure and then come to the rescue" of the organization. She attributed the discord to efforts aimed at shifting control from UK-based leadership to executives in southern Africa. "Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organisation, its mission and the young people we serve," she said in an earlier statement reported by PA Media.
The breakdown between Sentebale's leadership escalated further when Chandauka told Sky News that Prince Harry asked her to publicly defend Meghan Markle following a mismanaged appearance at the 2024 Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Florida. "The duchess decided to attend, but she told us she wasn't attending, and she brought a friend, a very famous friend," Chandauka said. She explained that the unexpected arrival created an on-stage "choreography" issue that drew press attention. "I said I wouldn't [issue a statement]. Not because I didn't care about the duchess, but because I knew what would happen if I did so... because we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes."
The Times reported that Sentebale underwent a restructuring aimed at realigning executive leadership closer to its operations in Lesotho and Botswana. The outlet also noted that Chandauka is believed to have filed a lawsuit against the charity in the High Court after the trustees asked her to step down.
A source close to the trustees told Fox News Digital, "These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the well-being of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship."
In a statement to CBS, Chandauka rejected claims of self-interest and framed her legal challenge as a response to alleged institutional misconduct. "There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct," she said.
"Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the chair of the board report her own trustees to the Charity Commission? Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit?" Chandauka added.
She concluded: "Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir-and the cover-up that ensued."
