It’s a Harry situation.
Prince Harry’s own words could very well come back to haunt him as Sentebale’s libel lawsuit puts the Duke of Sussex under immense scrutiny, royal commentator Kinsey Schofield tells Page Six.
“Sentebale is doing what the British royal family is not in a position to do: hold Prince Harry accountable for airing his personal grievances at the expense of other people,” Schofield said.
“Harry’s public declarations have very real consequences,” she continued. “The royal family’s popularity took a massive nosedive after the Oprah interview in which he and Meghan [Markle] made allegations of racism within the family. They were paralyzed and unable to fight those accusations.”
Schofield went on to note how Sentebale’s chairwoman, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, reportedly “presented Harry with analytics suggesting that his increasingly polarizing public profile was beginning to impact fundraising efforts” for the charity.
“She says that moment marked the start of a deteriorating relationship between the duke and the organization’s new leadership,” Schofield explained. “When tensions escalated, Harry resigned in a highly public fashion, while sources close to Harry accused Chandauka of orchestrating a ‘hostile takeover’ of the charity he founded.”
The royal commentator continued, “Harry has made it a personal mission to challenge media narratives and hold journalists accountable for their reporting. Now, litigation may place him in the unusual position of having to defend his own words and actions in court.”
As for King Charles and Prince William, they are said to be following Sentebale’s defamation case against Harry “closely.”
“For years, they have been unable to publicly challenge Harry’s allegations,” Schofield told us. “A courtroom may be the first place Harry’s claims are truly scrutinized. It may offer a form of vindication for an institution that has stayed silent while Prince Harry broadcast his disputes publicly.”
Sentebale, the charity Harry co-founded in his mom Princess Diana’s honor in 2006, filed a defamation, libel and slander lawsuit against the Duke of Sussex on March 24.
The charity also named Harry’s close friend, former Sentebale trustee Mark Dyer, as a defendant, and accused the pair of launching a “coordinated adverse media campaign” against Sentebale beginning in March 2025.
Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, with whom the duke co-founded Sentebale 20 years ago, both resigned from the charity last year amid an ugly and very public falling out between the royal renegade and Chandauka.
Chandauka went on to report Harry to the regulatory Charity Commission for England and Wales for allegations of bullying and harassment.
Although the commission launched an investigation into Chandauka’s claims, it found no evidence of “widespread or systemic bullying, harassment, misogyny or misogynoir.”
However, the commission did chastise both Harry and Chandauka for allowing their dispute “to play out publicly.”
As for Sentebale’s libel lawsuit, a spokesperson for both Harry and Dyer told Page Six that the pair “categorically reject” the charity’s “offensive and damaging claims.”
Schofield told us that the embattled duke is “likely to be frustrated” by Chandauka’s “audacity” in reportedly filing the defamation complaint.
“This is not only Sentebale sending the message that that is not an option for him, but also sending the message to other charities that Harry is a liability,” Schofield concluded.
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