Prince Harry Accused Of Sending 'Imperious' Note To Sentebale Boss After She Refused To Defend Meghan

Yahoo

01-04-2025

Prince Harry has been accused of sending an "unpleasant" note to the chairwoman of his Sentebale charity.
According to a report, the Duke of Sussex made the request after the chair, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, turned down his request to defend Meghan Markle publicly.
The Duchess of Sussex had come under fire following her appearance at a charity polo event where she was recorded directing the Sentebale boss away from Prince Harry's side.
The Duke of Sussex was embroiled in a "bullying" scandal after his decision to step down from his role at the Sentebale charity he co-founded.
Now, he has been directly accused of sending a note to the chair of the charity, Dr. Chandauka, demanding that she "explain" why she refused to defend his wife.
This comes after Dr. Chandauka claimed that Harry had asked her to release a statement defending Meghan from the backlash she faced over a video of the trio at a charity polo event.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Chandauka refused to get involved, and this allegedly prompted Harry to chastise her in a personal message that was said to have an "unpleasant" tone and "imperious" language, which left the charity chair "upset."
The Daily Mail has reportedly confirmed from Sentebale that such a message from Harry exists, although the organization did not disclose its content.
"We do not have consent to share the communication," a spokesperson told the news outlet.
Prior to the latest report, Dr. Chandauka shared that Meghan disrupted the Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Florida after indicating that she would not attend the event.
The Duchess is said to have arrived unannounced with tennis legend Serena Williams, leading to last-minute "disruptions."
During the event, Meghan allegedly made suggestions about the stage arrangement, twice requesting Dr. Chandauka to move away from Prince Harry's side.
This led to an awkward reshuffling of attendees that was caught on video, with Dr. Chandauka having to reposition herself around the trophy and away from Prince Harry.
Speaking to Sky News' Trevor Phillips, Dr. Chandauka noted that the unplanned appearance created coordination issues.
"We would have been really excited had we known ahead of time [Meghan was coming], but we didn't," she explained. "And so the choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage."
Dr. Chandauka further revealed that Harry requested she release a public statement supporting Meghan, but she declined.
"Not because I didn't care about the Duchess," Dr. Chandauka explained. "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."
Dr. Chandauka has made several accusatory remarks toward the Duke of Sussex, including claims that he acts as if he is "above the law," "mistreats people," and then "plays the victim card."
These comments seemingly referenced Harry's joint statement with the Lesotho prince about quitting the NGO.
Dr. Chandauka, who has served as Sentebale's chair since 2023, also accused Harry of being involved in what she described as a "cover-up" regarding an internal investigation into allegations of bullying, harassment, and misogyny within the organization.
She further claimed that the "toxicity" surrounding his public image had negatively affected the charity's operations.
An ex-trustee who left the charity organization alongside Harry has since opened up about being "shocked" by Dr. Chandauka's claims of "bullying."
"I can honestly say, in the meetings I was present in, there was never even a hint of such," Dr. Kelello Lerotholi told Sky News.
He added, "The general tone and conduct of the board has been one of respect for each other, accommodating each others' opinions and inputs, and speaking with respect to each other. So this all came as a shock to me."
At the time, he also linked the ongoing feud to Sentebale's financial issues caused by Dr. Chandauka's alleged mismanagement.
Lerotholi added, "I think things came to a head at the end of last year when it seemed that we were not doing as well as we used to be and that the future didn't look as bright as it used to."
Sources close to Sussexes have also slammed Dr. Chandauka's bullying claims as a "deflection."
The sources told the Daily Mail that Harry and other trustees' decisions to quit were a "direct result of the chair's mismanagement."
They also noted that Sentebale had no financial issues when Dr. Chandauka was appointed in 2023. The accusation about Harry's royal life departure leading to the loss of donors was "baseless and inaccurate."