‘Toxicity’ Claims Denied, Leadership Failures Blamed

• The chairwoman of Prince Harry’s charity Sentebale is speaking out against the Duke of Sussex after he, his co-founder and the board of trustees resigned
• A source close to trustees and patrons at the charity has stated that her claims are “baseless and potentially defamatory”
• Prince Harry set up Sentebale to assist young people affected by HIV alongside Prince Seeiso in 2006 in memory of both of their late mothers, including Princess Diana

Prince Harry’s charity, Sentebale, is embroiled in a bitter dispute between its chairwoman, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, and former patrons and trustees.  

In an interview with the Financial Times on Saturday, March 29, Sentebale chair Dr. Sophie Chandauka, who took on the role in July 2023, claimed that Harry and his co-founder Prince Seeiso — who resigned as patrons of the organization earlier this week — wanted “to force a failure and then come to the rescue.”

However, a source close to the patrons and trustees tells PEOPLE that their decision to exit the charity was based on Chandauka’s handling of the charity’s finances. (In response, a representative for Chandauka previously told PEOPLE: “First and foremost, like much of the content circulated yesterday, a lot of information being shared is untrue and defamatory in nature.”)

The source adds: “The trustees tried to negotiate this privately and requested she consider her position due to their lack of trust and confidence in her as a leader, as demonstrated by the financial position she put the charity in.”

“They fully expected this publicity stunt and reached their collective decision with this in mind,” the source adds. “They remain firm in their resignation for the good of the charity and look forward to the adjudication of the truth.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Chandauka claims that public backlash following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal exit hurt the charity’s ability to secure new donors and recruit senior staff.

“The No. 1 risk for this organization was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand,” Chandauka, a Zimbabwean corporate finance lawyer, told the outlet.

In response, the source argues that Sentebale had been heavily reliant on Prince Harry’s involvement — particularly through events like the Sentebale Polo Cup, where sponsors were attracted by his participation — and that the Duke of Sussex had donated $1.5 million from his memoir Spare.  

According to Chandauka, a key turning point for the organization allegedly came when tensions arose between herself and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at a polo event benefiting Sentebale in April 2024. A viral moment that seemingly showed Meghan moving Chandauka away from Harry for a photo after he won a match generated negative attention for Meghan, and the prince allegedly asked Chandauka to publicly address the incident.

“I said no, we’re not setting a precedent by which we become an extension of the Sussex PR machine,” Chandauka told the Financial Times of the incident.

The source who spoke with PEOPLE insists that the dispute stems from governance concerns, not personal grievances. They maintain that they “only ever want the truth to be shared.”

Chandauka also accused the charity’s board of “misogyny and misogynoir,” or misogyny against Black women, for how they treated her as a leader.

The source calls Chandauka’s claims of intimidation, racial bias and gender discrimination “baseless and potentially defamatory,” citing another trustee, Dr. Kelello Lerotholi, who denies witnessing such behavior.

In another interview with Sky News, which is set to air in full on Sunday, March 30, Chandauka claimed to have experienced “harassment and bullying at scale” after Harry and others left the organization.

“The only reason I’m here … is because 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 told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips.

“And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their famil[ies]?” she continued. “That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”

The Duke of Sussex, 40, and Prince Seeiso, 58, announced on March 26, that they were stepping down as patrons of the charity.

After the board of trustees asked Chandauka to resign, she brought a lawsuit against the charity, which supports young people in southern Africa. The Charity Commission, based in the U.K., confirmed they are investigating.

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Prince Harry set up Sentebale alongside Prince Seeiso in 2006 in memory of both of their late mothers. The Duke of Sussex saw it as continuing the legacy of Princess Diana, who campaigned to help those with AIDS.

“With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation,” the princes said in part at the time.

“…What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about.”