The chair of Prince Harry’s former charity, Sentebale has alleged that she experienced “bullying” from the Duke of Sussex and his PR “machine” via Fox News.
In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Dr. Sophie Chandauka made several claims regarding her past experiences with Prince Harry and the organization, including an incident at a polo fundraiser last year with Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
Chandauka stated that for the 2024 Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Florida, Prince Harry desired to bring a Netflix crew to the event, which led the charity to lose its original venue due to increased costs, forcing a switch to a different one.
An additional last-minute change occurred when the Duchess of Sussex, who was not originally planned to be there, attended.
“The duchess decided to attend, but she told us she wasn’t attending, and she brought a friend, a very famous friend,” she said.
That led to an awkward moment where, according to Chandauka, “The choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage. 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.”
The media attention from that moment started Prince Harry to ask that she issue a statement in support of Markle, Chandauka claimed.
“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.”
A source close to trustees and patrons stated they fully expected this publicity stunt and reached their collective decision with this in mind. They remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth.
In the interview, Chandauka also claimed she experienced “bullying” from Prince Harry and the unleashing of what she called the “Sussex [PR] machine.”
“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. And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their family? That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”
