The top of Prince Harry’s Africa charity has accused the Duke of Sussex of “harassment and bullying” on a grand scale as she claimed the royal now has a “toxic” model.
Prince Harry, 40, sensationally stop the Sentebale charity — which he co-founded in 2006 to assist younger individuals affected by AIDs in southern Africa — alongside along with his co-founder and all 5 of its trustees on Tuesday, moderately than work with its chairwoman, Dr. Sophie Chandauka.
Now the under-fire chief has accused the royal of “unleashing” his PR “machine” on her following the discharge of his joint assertion with co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.
“The only reason I’m here is because 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,” Chandauka advised Sky Information in an interview on Sunday.
“And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their famil[ies]?” she went on. “That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — contacted by means of their Archewell basis, the Sentebale charity and Meghan Markle’s official web site As Ever — didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Chandauka’s claims have been branded as “completely baseless” by a supply near the previous Sentebale charity’s trustees, Sky Information reported.
The ex-trustees “fully expected this publicity stunt and reached their collective decision with this in mind,” the supply added. “They remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth.”
Prince Harry tried to “eject” Chandauka from Sentebale, she claimed, as she accused him of being the “number one risk” to the charity. The Duke additionally demanded the charity share a public message of assist for his spouse, Meghan Markle, after a polo fundraiser she organized “went badly,” she alleged.
“I said I wouldn’t,” Chanduaka went on. “Not because I didn’t care about the duchess, but because I knew what would happen if I did so, number one. And number two, because we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes.”
Requested if Prince Harry was the “number one risk” to the charity, she replied “yes.” She added that most of the charity’s sponsors had walked away across the identical time the Sussexes left the UK.
When she requested why, she was advised that it was “an uncomfortable conversation to have with Prince Harry in the room.”
Chandauka — who has been chairwoman of Sentebale since 2023 — additionally accused Prince Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso of attempting to “force a failure” on the charity in a separate interview.
The princes “want to force a failure and then come to the rescue,” she alleged within the interview with the Monetary Occasions.
“The number one risk for this organization was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand,” she went on.
Her remarks marked the primary time she had damaged her silence following the joint assertion from Princes Harry and Seeiso on Tuesday, accusing her of making an “untenable situation” on the charity — whose identify means “forget me not.”
“The relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation,” the assertion learn.
“These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.”
The UK Charity Fee, a authorities physique which registers and regulates charities, is analyzing the fallout.
“We can confirm that we are aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale,” a Charity Fee spokesperson advised The Publish. “We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.”
