The chairwoman of a charity co-founded by Prince Harry has publicly accused him of engaging in “harassment and bullying at scale” during a television interview on Sunday. This accusation came after he and several others associated with the charity resigned earlier in the week.
Sophie Chandauka, the chairwoman of Sentebale, described how the Duke of Sussex activated “the Sussex (PR) machine” against her earlier in the week. This occurred when he announced his departure as a patron of the charity, along with co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and the entire board of trustees.
“At some point on Tuesday, Prince Harry authorized the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world without informing me, my country directors, or my executive director,” she disclosed on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips program.
“And can you imagine what that attack has done to me, to the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organization, and to their families?” she added. “That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”
A source close to the charity’s trustees and patrons revealed that they had anticipated such a publicity maneuver and had collectively decided to resign with this outcome in mind.
“They remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth,” the source communicated to CNN.
The source further refuted Chandauka’s assertion that the media was informed about the resignations before the charity, clarifying that both Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso had submitted their resignations to the chairwoman and trustees on March 10.
Contrary to this claim, Sentebale stated that although “some executive members saw a letter that was officially signed on behalf of the trustees,” no formal resignation letter was received from the patrons.
In another interview released Saturday, Chandauka expressed her belief that Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso “intend to precipitate a failure before attempting to save” the organization.
Chandauka discussed with the Financial Times the internal conflicts within the charity, noting a clash between the UK-based staff and those in Lesotho and Botswana.
She attributed this tension to her efforts to overhaul the charity and decentralize decision-making to leaders in southern Africa.
Following his resignation, Prince Harry admitted to being “in shock,” reflecting on his decision to leave the charity he established in 2006 to support youth with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana.
The Duke of Sussex had originally launched Sentebale in tribute to his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash nine years earlier.
In a joint declaration with his co-founder on Wednesday, Prince Harry expressed that it was “with heavy hearts” they stepped down from their roles “until further notice.”
Earlier this week, Chandauka seemingly criticized the 40-year-old royal for “playing the victim card” in her statement.
“Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organization, its mission, and the young people we serve,” she asserted in a statement reported by Britain’s PA Media news agency.
She characterized the situation as “the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle on issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir – and the cover-up that ensued.”
