Prince Harry is facing accusations of sending an “unpleasant” email to the head of a charity after she declined to publicly defend his wife, Meghan Markle.
Dr. Sophie Chandauka, who leads the African charity Sentebale, allegedly received an “imperious” message from Harry following a tense interaction with the Duchess of Sussex in April. The incident occurred during a photo opportunity at a Sentebale polo match, where Meghan was seen asking Dr. Chandauka to move away from Prince Harry for the photograph.
Harry had captained the victorious team in the match, and according to Dr. Chandauka, Meghan’s appearance at the event was unexpected. She arrived last minute with Serena Williams and a Netflix film crew, even though the charity had not been informed about her presence.
Sources, as reported by the Telegraph, claim that following the awkward moment, Harry reached out to Dr. Chandauka, urging her to release a statement to address any rumors of tension.
However, Dr. Chandauka explained on Sky News that she had two reasons for refusing the request. She described the situation at the event, saying, “We were excited about it, we would have been really excited [if] we had known ahead of time, but we didn’t, and so the choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage.”
She added, “The international press captured this, and there was a lot of talk about the Duchess and the choreography on stage and whether she should have been there and her treatment of me.”
Dr. Chandauka further clarified her stance, saying, “Prince Harry asked me to issue some sort of a statement in support of the Duchess, and I said I wouldn’t, 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.”
Prince Harry is said to have sent an ‘unpleasant’ email requesting that the charity leader ‘explain herself’.
The Telegraph reported that a spokesperson for Sentebale confirmed the Duke had indeed sent the message. “This is true. There is a document,” they said.
This incident is believed to have further strained Harry’s relationship with some members of the organization, leading to him stepping down as the charity’s patron last Tuesday. He cited a complete breakdown in the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board, saying it was beyond repair.
Harry founded Sentebale in 2006 in Lesotho, a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa, in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana. The charity aims to support children and young people, particularly those living with HIV and AIDS, alongside Prince Seeiso.
Dr. Chandauka, speaking to Trevor Phillips, expressed his frustration, saying, “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.”
He continued, “And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their family?”
He described the situation as “an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”
During the interview, Dr. Chandauka made a startling accusation, suggesting there had been an attempt at a ‘cover up.’
“It was me who was the problem because I filed a whistleblower complaint about the bullying, harassment, and misogyny, and Prince Harry interfered in the investigation of that. So, it’s a cover up—and the Prince is involved,” she stated.