Last week, it was revealed that Prince Harry would be stepping down from his role at Sentebale, the charity he co-founded, amid an internal controversy. Now, Sentebale’s chair, Zimbabwe-born lawyer Dr. Sophie Chandauka, has alleged that the dispute originated in April 2024 when she refused a request from Prince Harry’s team to publicly defend Meghan Markle following negative media coverage.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Dr. Chandauka stated: “I said no, we are setting a precedent by which we become an extension of the Sussex PR machine.”
According to the publication, she argued that the “volatile public sentiment around Prince Harry” following his move to the U.S., combined with the media scrutiny surrounding his 2023 memoir Spare and his 2022 Netflix docuseries, had affected the charity’s ability to expand and hire senior staff.
“When you start to interview people, they are asking questions about, well, these mixed messages about its patron,” she added.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the trustees’ perspective insisted that the conflict was not personal, emphasizing that “real issues at hand haven’t been addressed.” The source also noted that Dr. Chandauka was asked to step down due to “a lack of trust and confidence in her leadership.”
What Happened Last Week
On Wednesday, Prince Harry and his co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, announced their resignation from Sentebale.
In a joint statement, they expressed their disappointment, saying:
“With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organisation 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.”
According to The Times, the leadership dispute centers on a breakdown in trust and confidence in Dr. Chandauka. She was appointed chair in 2023 after previously serving on the board from 2008 to 2014. Reports suggest she took legal action against the trustees after they questioned whether she was the right person to lead the board.
In their statement, Harry and Prince Seeiso sided with the departing trustees, writing: “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.
What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about.”
Former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Dr. Kelello Lerotholi, and Damian West also released a statement calling their resignation “devastating” but necessary due to their “loss of trust and confidence in the chair of the board.”
In response, Dr. Chandauka revealed that she had reported the trustees to the UK Charity Commission, alleging misconduct, including “abuse of power, bullying, sexism, and racism.”
