The chair of the charity set up by Prince Harry has accused him of “harassment and bullying at scale” after he and several others quit the organisation earlier this week.
The Duke of Sussex was said to have initiated the campaign by the “unleashing of the Sussex [PR] machine”.
Sentebale chair Dr Sophie Chandauka told Trevor Phillips on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “The only reason I’m here… is because at some point on Tuesday, Prince Harry authorised the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world without informing me or my country directors, or my executive director.
“And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organisations and their family?
“That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”
Sky News contacted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about the contents of the interview and they declined to offer any formal response.
A source close to the former trustees of the Sentebale charity has described as “completely baseless” Dr Chandauka’s claims that she was bullied and harassed, briefed against by Prince Harry, or that the Sussex machine was unleashed on her.
Royal correspondent
This could not be more damning to a charity that has meant so much to Prince Harry.
Sophie Chandauka laying the blame for the collapse of Sentebale firmly at the door of the Duke of Sussex.
Her statement on Wednesday felt like a hit at him with its mention of using the press he despises, but now we’re left in no uncertain terms who she holds responsible.
There have been bullying allegations levelled at the Duke before, he refuted them then and those close to him refuse to accept them on this occasion too.
I spoke to one of the former trustees, Dr Kelello Lerotholi, who told me he didn’t recognise any of the allegations made.
He wanted to share with me that issues around stewardship, concerns about the future direction of the charity, and financial worries led to this huge divide and breakdown between the trustees, the patrons and the chair.
Dr Lerotholi was also there from the very beginning – he met Harry when he went to Lesotho for his gap year, the foundation stone for setting up the charity in Princess Diana’s name.
He’s also a close friend of Prince Seisso, Sentebale’s co-founder. He couldn’t have been clearer that this has left them all devastated.
I went to Lesotho in 2015 when they opened the Mamohato Centre – a place for children and teenagers who had HIV and AIDS to share their experiences and a place where it was clear Harry felt at home.
Yet now after five years where Harry has had to give up so much, his beloved charity, how it’s been run and the behaviour of those within it is now at the centre of a UK Charity Commission investigation.
The behaviour of Harry has been called into question in the most serious way.
On Tuesday, Prince Harry quit as patron of the charity, which he set up in honour of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
At the time, he released a joint statement with co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, saying they had been forced to step down “in support of and solidarity with” the board of trustees who had also resigned, following their disagreements with the chairwoman.
They wrote that the relationship “broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation”.
The problems reportedly stem from a decision to focus fundraising in Africa.
Follow our channel and never miss an update.
In a statement earlier this week, seemingly targeted at Prince Harry, Dr Chandauka said: “There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct.
“Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to the press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir – and the cover-up that ensued.”
On Wednesday, a former trustee of Sentebale, Dr Kelello Lerotholi, told Sky’s royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills he did not recognise any of the allegations.
Dr Lerotholi said he had never witnessed these issues and that the claims “came to me as a surprise”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Read more:
Prince Harry ‘in shock’ as he quits Sentebale charity
Charity misconduct claims ‘a surprise’, says Sentebale trustee
“I can honestly say, in the meetings I was present in, there was never even a hint of such,” he said.
“The general tone and conduct of the board has been one of respect for each other, accommodating each other’s opinions and inputs, and speaking with respect to each other.
“So this all came as a shock to me.”
Sentebale was established in 2006 to help children and young people in southern Africa, particularly those with HIV and Aids.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Prince Harry was inspired to start the charity after spending two months in Lesotho, when he was on a gap year in 2004.
He was in the small African country – which has one of the world’s highest rates of HIV and AIDS – as recently as last October.
You can watch Trevor Phillips’ full interview with Dr Sophie Chandauka tomorrow morning on ‘Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips’ from 8:30am on Sky News.
