Harry demanded charity boss ‘explain herself’ in ‘unpleasant’ note after she refused to defend Meghan over polo spat
PRINCE Harry allegedly demanded charity boss to explain herself in an “unpleasant” note after she refused to defend Meghan over the polo spat.
The Duke of Sussex contacted Dr Sophie Chandauka, the chairman of Sentebale, after a spat at a polo match in Miami last year.
It is alleged he requested the lawyer to issue a statement denying the circling rumours about a feud with Meghan.
Inside sources have since revealed the charity boss was taken aback by the “unpleasant” nature of the note.
And her refusal to follow the Royal’s demands is believed by them to have led to his eventual resignation as head of the HIV children’s charity he co-launched almost 20 years ago.
The Miami spat
Sources say relations between the pair went downhill after Harry tried to hijack a 2024 polo fundraiser, causing it to be rearranged.
In an interivew with Sky News’ Trevor Phillips, shown yesterday, Dr Chandauka said a family had generously offered the use of their grounds at a discount.
But a month before, “Harry called the team and said, ‘I’m doing a Netflix show, and I would love to bring a camera crew so that I can include some footage’”.
She went on: “The team called me and tell me, ‘Oh, Prince Harry’s made this request, so we’re doing the things’. I said, ‘You can’t be doing the things without seeking consent from the property owners, the sponsors, all the guests’.
“Nobody signed up into being on a Netflix show.”
Dr Chandauka, 47, said that now it had become a “commercial undertaking” the site owner wanted to charge more.
She added: “We couldn’t afford it so now we lost the venue.”
Another was found, in Wellington, Florida, and Meghan said she would not be there.
However, she turned up at the last minute with tennis legend Serena Williams “which caused a lot of disruption”.
She said “a lot of people were unhappy because we worked on this for months”.
There was also an awkward exchange on stage when Dr Chandauka was asked not to pose next to Harry as they presented a trophy.
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It comes after the head of a charity founded by the Duke of Sussex, 40, accused him of trying to “eject” her through “bullying” and “harassment”.
Harry announced on Tuesday that he and several trustees had quit Sentebale, the charity he set up with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, amid a boardroom battle within the organisation.
Sophie Chandauka has been chairwoman of Sentebale since 2023.
She accused the duke of being “involved” in a “cover-up” of an investigation about bullying, harassment and misogyny at the organisation.
Ms Chandauka also said the “toxicity” of his “brand” had impacted the charity.
She claimed she was rudely asked twice by Meghan to budge and had to duck under the trophy.
She said: “The international Press captured this, and there was a lot of talk about the Duchess and the choreography on stage and whether she should have been there and her treatment of me.”
Harry later asked the chairwoman to release a statement “in support of the Duchess”.
But she refused, saying: “We’re not setting a precedent by which we become an extension of the Sussex PR machine.”
Dr Chandauka said the Sussexes’ brand has become “toxic” — and there were red flags around them as soon as she arrived.
She conducted a financial review and discovered a “significant correlation” between Harry leaving the UK in 2020 and a drop in donations from major organisations.
She asked her senior executives why they had not raised the issue during board meetings and was stunned by the response. She said:
“The answer is, ‘It’s really difficult to have this conversation because the instruction was, it’s uncomfortable conversation to have with Prince Harry in the room’.”
As relations began to deteriorate between the chairwoman and Harry and the trustees, Dr Chandauka made a complaint about bullying, harassment and misogyny.
She accuses the Duke of Sussex of trying to “interfere” with the investigation.
However, she added that the misogyny did not stem from him and his associates.
The Sussex’s team have been approached for comment.