Allegations made against Harry and Meghan by the boss of his Africa-based charity are “highly misleading” and “baseless”, sources close to the prince have said.
Dr Sophie Chandauka, the former chairman of Sentebale, has accused the Duke of Sussex of “harassment and bullying at scale” amid infighting within the organisation.
She also accused Harry of having “unleashed the Sussex (PR) machine” after he and several others quit the charity last week.
But sources close to Sentebale’s former trustees said Dr Chandauka's comments on Sunday are a "deflection" and that the resignations were a "direct result of the chair's mismanagement".
They also said it was "completely baseless” for Dr Chandauka to suggest that Harry’s requests were nodded through by acolytes on the board of trustees.
In an interview with Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Dr Chandauka accused Harry and his wife Meghan of allowing his Netflix show Polo to ruin a major Sentebale fundraising event in April last year.
Dr Chandauka claimed that Meghan caused 'disruption' when she turned up at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Wellington, Florida with Tennis icon Serena Williams — despite previously confirming that she would not be attending.
A newly-resurfaced clip from the event shows Meghan forcing Dr Chandauka to duck under the polo trophy, just moments before she kissed her husband in front of the cameras to celebrate his win.
I would personally like to thank the Sussex Squad who originally shared this video on Instagram
— MeghansMole©️ (@MeghansMole) March 30, 2025
They did a great job exposing Meghan Markle’s atrocious treatment of Dr Sophie Chandauka
🤭🤭 pic.twitter.com/YENapNsrhG
Recalling the affair, Dr Chandauka said: “We would have been really excited had we known ahead of time (Meghan was coming), but we didn't.
“And so the choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage. 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.”
However, sources close to Harry told the Daily Mail that Dr Chandauka's extraordinary account of the debacle is “highly misleading”.
They also claim that the original venue had already changed its terms, resulting in rising costs and forcing Sentebale to find a new site with support from Harry's polo friend Nacho Figueras.
Founded in 2006 by Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in memory of the Duke’s late mother Princess Diana, Sentebale dedicates itself to tackling poverty and Aids in both Lesotho and Botswana.
However, Sentebale was plunged into civil war last week when the Duke announced his "truly heartbroken" decision to resign from the charity’s board following a breakdown in his relationship with Dr Chandauka.
Dr Chandauka, who ran Sentebale since 2023, accused the duke of being in a “cover-up” of an investigation about bullying, harassment and misogyny at the organisation, which employs more than 500 people.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have yet to formally respond to the allegations.
