‘Heartbroken’ Harry as charity faces probe: Prince accuses Sentebale chair of telling ‘blatant lies’ as charity commission opens investigation after accusations of ‘bullying’
Prince Harry today accused Sentebale’s boss of telling ‘blatant lies’ as Britain’s charities watchdog launched an investigation into ‘concerns’ about how the charity he set up in his mother’s memory has been run.
The Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case a week after Harry quit as a patron and demanded the resignation of Dr Sophie Chandauka.
She refused, took legal action to remain in post and reported her concerns to the Charity Commission, who have now announced an investigation.
The Duke of Sussex has spoken out about the bitter boardroom battle for control of Sentebale that has engulfed him in scandal. He has said he believes the truth about their deepening rift will be ‘unveiled’.
‘What has transpired over the last week has been heartbreaking to witness, especially when such blatant lies hurt those who have invested decades in this shared goal. No one suffers more than the beneficiaries of Sentebale itself’, he said today.
Since his resignation, Dr Chandauka has called the Sussexes’ brand ‘toxic’ and accused Harry of ‘harassment and bullying at scale’ – a claim that is denied.
She also suggested Harry is playing ‘the victim card’ and said: ‘Really, what Prince Harry wanted to do was to eject me from the organisation and this went on for months. I have documentation’.
Meghan was also dragged into the rift and accused of gatecrashing a polo event in aid of Sentebale with Serena Williams and a Netflix crew in tow in April 2024. There was then an excruciating video showing her moving the Sentebale chief away from her husband at the trophy presentation.
It came after Harry left the charity he set up in 2006 in the dispute with its chairwoman, declaring that he was ‘truly heartbroken’ but the ‘relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board had broken down beyond repair’.
Dr Sophie Chandauka, pictured with Meghan and Harry at a polo event last year that sparked a row. A year on the trio have fallen out and the Duke of Sussex resigned from Sentebale
Sentebale chairman Dr Sophie Chandauka has made several damaging claims against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, calling their brand ‘toxic’
Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and Prince Harry at a children’s centre in Lesotho in October 2024
The Charity Commission said today that it had informed Sentebale yesterday that it had ‘opened a regulatory compliance case to examine concerns raised about the charity’, which has been welcomed by both Dr Chandauka and the duke.
The compliance case is not the same as a statutory inquiry, but rather allows the watchdog to ‘gather evidence and assess the compliance of the charity and trustees past and present with their legal duties’ and responsibilities under charity law.
Ms Chandauka said she welcomes the opening of the case and hopes the outcome can ‘comfort’ the public that the charity and its new trustees are ‘acting appropriately’.
Harry said in a statement: ‘From the inception of Sentebale nearly 20 years ago, Prince Seeiso and I have had a clear goal: to support the children and young people in Southern Africa in memory of our mothers.
‘On behalf of the former trustees and patrons, we share in the relief that the Charity Commission confirmed they will be conducting a robust inquiry.
‘We fully expect it will unveil the truth that collectively forced us to resign.
‘We remain hopeful this will allow for the charity to be put in the right hands immediately, for the sake of the communities we serve.’
Prince Harry giggles as he holds old friend Mutsu Potsane, six, in the grounds of the Mants’ase childrens home, while on a return visit to Lesotho in 2006 as he set up Sentebale
The ‘highly awkward’ moment at a fundraising polo match for Sentebale in the US last year. The incident now forms part of the row between the charity boss and Harry
After Harry’s resignation last Tuesday, Dr Chandauka has turned up the heat.
The Oxford-educated Zimbabwean lawyer also claimed Sentebale was a ‘vanity project’ for Harry, portraying herself as a whistle-blower and highlighting ‘poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir and the cover-up that ensued’.
She also lifted the lid on their row over a Miami polo event organised to raise funds for Sentebale last April.
She claimed it was derailed by the prince’s insistence on bringing along a Netflix film crew with him to shoot scenes for a documentary he was making on polo. She believes it resulted in the charity losing the venue.
When the event was re-organised, she says, Meghan turned up unannounced, bringing along with her a friend, tennis star Serena Williams.
At a prize giving ceremony the ensuing chaos on stage saw Ms Chandauka seemingly elbowed out by the Duchess of Sussex in a highly awkward exchange that was caught on camera.
It is alleged Harry asked her to make a statement ‘in support of the duchess’ which she refused, saying it was important that the charity wasn’t seen as an ‘extension of the Sussexes’.
This was in part because Harry’s decision to quit the Royal Family had been proving problematic for the charity in terms of decision-making and attracting sponsors, she has alleged.
The royal is understood to have sent the ‘extraordinary’ text message to Sophie Chandauka demanding to know how she was going to deal with the public debacle involving his wife Meghan, who was being accused of snubbing her at a fundraising polo match.
Sources have described the message as ‘basically very unpleasant’, ‘imperious’ and ‘fairly extraordinary’ in tone, and asking her ‘how are you going to deal with this?’
Dr Chandauka (left), the chair of Prince Harry’s beleaguered charity Sentebale, said she had been asked to defend Meghan Markle against negative publicity but declined
Prince Harry recently appeared in a video promoting the sustainable tourism initiative Travalyst. Today he said he is heartbroken by what has happened at Sentebale
The royal founded the organisation in honour of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help young people and children in southern Africa, particularly those living with HIV and Aids.
Last week it emerged that several trustees had left the charity in a dispute with its chairwoman, Sophie Chandauka, having requested her resignation.
Harry and Prince Seeiso backed the departing trustees and announced they had resigned as patrons until further notice.
They said their resignations came ‘with heavy hearts’, adding that it was ‘devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation’.
Ms Chandauka issued a statement in which she alleged there had been ‘poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir’.
The commission said it had informed the charity yesterday that it had ‘opened a regulatory compliance case to examine concerns raised about the charity’.
This allows the watchdog to ‘gather evidence and assess the compliance of the charity and trustees past and present with their legal duties’ and responsibilities under charity law.
It is not the same as a statutory inquiry.
The commission, which said the decision to open a case came after assessing initial concerns raised, said it is in ‘direct contact with parties who have raised concerns’.
Regulatory compliance cases can lead to a range of outcomes including an official warning being given to a charity or a statutory inquiry being opened, which can give the commission additional powers of investigation.
In a statement given to the Mail on behalf of Dr Chandauka today, she said: ‘I welcome the Charity Commission’s decision to proceed with a regulatory compliance case to consider the various governance, administration and management matters I first reported in February 2025.
‘For completeness, I should mention that we initiated an internal governance review last year, the findings of which we will share with the Charity Commission.
‘We hope that, together, these actions will give the general public, our colleagues, partners, supporters, donors and the communities we serve comfort that Sentebale and its new Board of Trustees are acting appropriately to demonstrate and ensure good governance and a healthy culture for Sentebale to thrive.
‘In the meantime, our exceptional Executive team and operational staff remain focused on the day-to-day operations of the charity, ensuring continuity in our work and mission delivery.
‘We appreciate the patience, understanding and tremendous support we have received from our existing and prospective partners and supporters, and look forward to continuing to work together with you as we recalibrate for an ambitious future.’
Sentebale executive director Carmel Gaillard said her team is committed to co-operating with the Charity Commission’s case.
She said: ‘As executive director, I speak on behalf of the Sentebale executive team and operational staff that we welcome the clarity this process will bring.
‘Transparency and accountability are central to how we operate, and the executive team and I are fully committed to supporting the Charity Commission’s regulatory compliance case in any way needed.
‘We will also continue to work closely with the chair and the new board of trustees to ensure the smooth running of the organisation, keeping our focus firmly on delivering for the young people and communities we serve.’
MailOnline revealed this week how the Chair of Sentebale has shut down her social media after a pile-on led by the so-called Sussex Squad.
Dr Sophie Chandauka deleted her Twitter account in the face of ‘online bullying’ including racism.
One troll, who uses #TeamSussex in their bio, called her a ‘house negro’ – a derogatory and racist term used to compare contemporary black people with slaves who lived in the homes of their slave-owners.
She has also been branded a ‘fraud’ who is ‘jumping on a bandwagon of hate’ from several accounts professing to support the Sussexes.
There have also been bizarre and baseless conspiracy theories including the false suggestion that Dr Chandauka is in the employ of the Prince and Princess of Wales or the Royal Family to bring down the charity Harry set up to help African children and make his mother proud.
A spokesman for Sentebale said: ‘Dr Chandauka deleted her Twitter account due to the proliferation of online bullying’.
It came as a friend of Harry’s told the Mail’s Alison Boshoff that he is ‘grief-stricken’, ‘in total shock’ and feels ‘like he’s had one of his fingers cut off’ amid the chaos at the charity he founded in 2006.
Meghan has this week launched her As Ever brand
The Sentebale chief has deleted her Twitter account after online bullying, the charity has said
Since Harry’s resignation, Sentebale’s chair has faced an onslaught of trolling over the past week including her being accused of criminal behaviour and even ‘trashing’ Princess Diana’s memory.
One insider who has worked with Sentebale told MailOnline: ‘While the pile-on has nothing to do with the Sussexes themselves, it doesn’t look good that much of the venom is from their fans.
‘The couple have campaigned against cyber bullying and misinformation on social media. I’m sure they will be appalled’.
A spokesman for Prince Harry declined to comment.
Sentebale’s under fire chair shut down her main social media profile yesterday.
It came after Harry was accused of sending an ‘unpleasant’ and ‘imperious’ note to Dr Chandauka demanding she ‘explain herself’ when she declined to publicly defend his wife.
The excruciating video showing Meghan Markle moving the charity boss away from her husband in Florida in April 2024 has been viewed by millions online.
Dr Chandauka said on Sunday that Prince Harry had, via his team, asked her ‘to issue some sort of a statement in support’ of Meghan to quash any rumours of tension between them.
Sentebale’s boss claimed she didn’t want to get involved as any statement might lead to Meghan being trolled.
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