The chair of the charity co-founded by Prince Harry has accused him of “harassment and bullying at scale” after he announced his resignation last week.
In an interview with Sky News that aired on Sunday, Sentebale chair Sophie Chandauka cited Harry’s resignation statement as an “unleashing of the Sussex machine” against her and the organization’s employees.
“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,” Chandauka said. “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 bullying and harassment at scale.”
The Duke of Sussex founded Sentebale alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, with the aim of helping young people in the southern African nations of Lesotho and Botswana tackle health issues such as HIV and AIDS, as well as wealth inequity and climate resilience.
The two originally set up the charity to honor their late mothers, Britain’s Princess Diana and Lesotho’s Queen Mamohato. Both quit as patrons of Sentebale after a fallout between its chairperson and the trustees.
Harry and Seeiso had told Britain’s Press Association news agency last week that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board “broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation.”
Without naming Chandauka, Harry and Seeiso had said in their joint statement that Sentebale’s trustees had asked the chair to step down, “while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind.” They did not elaborate on why the chair had been asked to step down from their position. The statement then said the chair sued Sentebale “to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.”
Harry and Seeiso added in their statement that they plan to raise their concerns with Britain’s Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales. A spokesperson for the Charity Commission told NBC News last week that it was “aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale” and “assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.”
Chandauka issued her own statement last week, calling out “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.”
“Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press,” she added, “is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir — and the cover-up that ensued.”
She clarified in her Sky News interview Sunday that her experience with Harry himself was “fantastic, actually,” and that they had a “great relationship.” But some people on the charity’s board, she said, “completely disrupted my meetings because they thought that they could get away with mistreating a woman.”
The Duke of Sussex did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Responding to Chandauka’s allegations, former Sentebale trustee Kelello Lerotholi said he was unaware of the issues she raised during his time on the board.
“The general tone and conduct of the board has been one of respect for each other, accommodating each other’s opinions and inputs, and speaking with respect to each other,” Lerotholi told Sky News. “So this all came as a shock to me when I heard.”
Harry, who stepped down as a working member of Britain’s royal family in 2020, now lives in California with his wife, Meghan, and their two children.
The post Chair of Prince Harry’s charity accuses him of ‘harassment and bullying at scale’ after his public resignation appeared first on NBC News.
