Prince Harry's charity head Sophie Chandauka accuses him of harassment after calling Sussex brand 'toxic'
MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA: Prince Harry’s long-standing charity Sentebale has become the center of an explosive dispute following allegations of harassment and bullying made by Dr Sophie Chandauka, the chair of the organization.
In response, a source close to the former trustees has dismissed her claims as "completely baseless," deepening the controversy surrounding the Duke of Sussex.
Sophie Chandauka’s claims against Prince Harry
Sophie Chandauka has accused Prince Harry of "harassment and bullying at scale," claiming that he "unleashed the Sussex machine" against her, the Daily Mail reported.
In a message directed at the Duke, she stated, “The team is resolved that Sentebale will live on, with or without you.”
The Zimbabwean lawyer first felt tension with Harry a year ago and alleged that she was asked to defend Meghan Markle against negative publicity, a request she refused.
The chair of a charity set up by Prince Harry has accused him of 'harassment and bullying at scale' by 'unleashing the Sussex machine' after he quit.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 29, 2025
A source close to the former trustees of the Sentebale charity has described the claims as 'completely baseless'. pic.twitter.com/lmBLUXzFoO
The situation escalated when the charity’s trustees resigned after relations with Chandauka "broke down beyond repair" and Prince Harry dramatically quit Sentebale in solidarity with them.
In an interview with The Financial Times, Chandauka said that Prince Harry's controversial public image had hindered Sentebale’s progress.
“The number one risk for this organization was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand,” she said, implying that Prince Harry’s reputation since moving to the US had negatively impacted the charity’s ability to attract donors and senior hires.
“When you start to interview people, they're asking questions about, well, these mixed messages around the patron,” she added.
She further accused Prince Harry and his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho of attempting to "force a failure" of the organization, only to later step in as its saviors.
Sophie Chandauka's explosive allegations against Prince Harry
In a separate interview on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Sophie Chandauka described Prince Harry’s release of a statement announcing his and the trustees’ resignations as an "attack" and "an example of harassment and bullying at scale."
Phillips asked, “What you're essentially saying is that the Duke of Sussex is guilty of harassment and bullying and improper conduct in the governance of the charity?”
Chandauka responded by claiming that Harry's statement was issued without informing her or the charity’s country directors, calling it “an unleashing of the Sussex machine on me and the 540 employees at Sentebale.”
When pressed to define the "Sussex machine," she said, “The PR machine that supports Prince Harry’s efforts. The only way we discovered his decision was through the Sussex machine activating newspapers.”
The dispute took an even more bitter turn when Sentebale released a statement implying that "people in the field" were more critical to the charity than its trustees.
The new Chair of Sentebale just said this about Prince Harry:
— Prince & Princess of Wales (@TribesBritannia) March 26, 2025
‘There are people who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge them.’
In a damning remark, the organization added, “There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct.”
Prince Harry 'reeling' after Sophie Chandauka’s allegations
Prince Harry has remained silent on Sophie Chandauka’s allegations. However, a source who has known the Prince since the charity’s inception told The Daily Mail, “There’s no way of sugar-coating the damage of this, regardless of who’s in the right. He’ll be reeling.”
Meanwhile, a source close to the former trustees has pushed back strongly against Chandauka’s allegations.
“Her claims that she was bullied and harassed, briefed against by Prince Harry, or that the Sussex machine was ‘unleashed on her’ are completely baseless,” they said.
Furthermore, Sentebale and its trustees are now facing allegations of racism and bullying from Chandauka, signaling that this controversy is far from over.
The charity, originally founded in 2006 in memory of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, to support AIDS orphans in southern Africa, now faces an uncertain future.
The organization has reiterated its commitment to continuing its work without its royal patron, stating that it will persist despite the "untenable" actions of Chandauka.
