Prince Harry news: Sentebale chair Sophie Chandauka accuses royal of ‘misogyny’, says Meghan Markle an issue

The chair of Sentebale, a charity co-founded by Prince Harry, has accused the royal of “bullying, harassment, and misogyny” in a scathing interview aired on Sky News. Dr Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwean-born lawyer and board member for Sentabale from 2009-2015, then again from 2023, alleged attempts by Prince Harry to undermine her leadership and cover up governance issues within the organisation.

Dr Chandauka also claimed that Prince Harry pressured her to issue public statements in support of the Duchess of Sussex, which she refused.

“Prince Harry asked me to issue some sort of a statement in support of the Duchess, and I said I wouldn’t … because we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes,” she told interviewer Trevor Phillips.

Adding to the accusations, she alleged Harry sabotaged her fundraising efforts by speaking to sponsors against her.

“Prince Harry started to brief … sponsors that I had been speaking to, against me and the charity, because that is a sure way of getting me out if it’s seen as though I’m not being successful in my fundraising efforts,” she said.

The charity’s financial struggles were highlighted as Dr Chandauka accused Harry’s reputation of driving away corporate sponsors.

“Corporate and high-wealth sponsors have abandoned Sentebale because of Prince Harry’s reputation,” she stated.

Dr Chandauka also criticised Prince Harry for behaving as though he was “above the law,” claiming his presence stifled open discussion at board meetings saying: “When the Prince is in the room, no one has the courage to speak.”

The accusations come after Prince Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso announced their resignation from Sentebale last week, citing ongoing disputes with Dr Chandauka.

In their statement, they alleged that Dr Chandauka had refused to step down despite being asked by trustees and had instead sued the charity to retain her position.

Responding to these claims, Dr Chandauka described herself as a whistleblower exposing “poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir (ingrained male prejudice against black women).”

She painted Prince Harry’s resignation announcement as “harassment and bullying at scale.”

The feud has also extended into concerns about public relations efforts surrounding the Sussexes.

Dr Chandauka disclosed that she refused requests from Prince Harry’s team to defend Meghan Markle after negative media coverage at a charity polo match last year when Meghan seemed to ask Dr Chandauka to move places away from Harry’s side in a photo call.

“I said no; we’re not setting a precedent by which we become an extension of the Sussex PR machine,” she told The Financial Times.

Sources close to Sentebale’s trustees have dismissed Dr Chandauka’s allegations as a publicity stunt. They claim both Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso submitted resignation letters weeks before their public statement and remain committed to the charity’s future without her leadership.

Dr Chandauka also accused Harry and fellow co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho of trying to “force a failure” of the organisation only to then come to its rescue.

The charity’s website remains defiant with a message reading: “Talked about? Yes. Distracted? Never. The work continues.”