Prince Harry believes Sophie Chandauka has looted Sentebale’s coffers

It looks like “sources close to Prince Harry” have been very talkative in the wake of the Charity Commission’s release of their inquiry into Sentebale. The Charity Commission found that there’s zero evidence for Sophie Chandauka’s accusations of bullying, sexism and racism. The commission also blamed all sides for not handling this situation privately. The commission made no move to recommend that Chandauka step down, which was originally what kicked off this crisis – the board of trustees was prepared to ask for Chandauka’s resignation after she blew through hundreds of thousands of dollars on “consultants” without board approval. Before the board could vote, Chandauka ran to the Charity Commission and lied about how she, the chairwoman, was being bullied in her entirely voluntary position. After the commission’s findings came out, Chandauka then snidely invoked Princess Diana AND blamed Harry and Prince Seeiso for resigning in protest. Well, “sources close to Harry” have now spoken to Becky English at the Mail. I’m including a few of English’s asinine asides, mostly because there’s some interesting BTS info here.

The saga has now resulted in such bitterness between the two camps that many – including the prince himself – are privately predicting that the charity will not survive the fall-out. Harry, I am told, is ‘utterly devastated’, spending hours on the phone from California to supporters late into the night raging about a ‘hostile takeover’ of his ‘life’s work’. The prince and his friends believe ‘Ms’ Chandauka – they won’t even use her honorary title of doctor, such is the depth of their animosity – cajoled her way to a position of power and influence.

They claim she would rather see the charity ‘go down in flames’ than admit she is guilty of mismanagement and resign. ‘She shopped them all to the Charity Commission when the trustees raised their concerns about the charity’s governance,’ alleges a source.

They say that Harry had personally tried to mediate between her and the trustees, and when that was rejected even offered to bring an independent firm of lawyers to help. They also allege that Harry was not given the opportunity to submit a statement to the watchdog’s inquiry, despite the very personal nature of the claims made against him.

One source close to the prince told me yesterday there was ‘no way in hell’ he would ever work with Sentebale again – ‘or at least not while Sophie Chandauka and her new stool pigeons [new trustees] were in place’.

What’s more, while the prince is weighing up his options over what to do next, they said if he were to set up a charity again he ‘would categorically not do it under the jurisdiction of the Charity Commission for England and Wales which he has no faith in and would go as far to say that he believes isn’t fit for purpose’. The commission, let us remind ourselves, is the Government’s independent regulatory body – and we all know, after his decisive loss in the Court of Appeal over his UK security arrangements earlier this year, what he thinks of such official bodies. Another ‘establishment stitch-up’, no doubt.

Of course, the eloquent Dr Chandauka, a Zimbabwean-born lawyer, offers a very different version. Recollections, to quote a now well-worn phrase, really do vary. Back in March, she said she took on the role of chair after serving as a charity trustee with the best of intentions and seemingly felt that the charity, regardless of the good intention at its inception, had become a personal ‘fiefdom’ for Harry and his pals. She said she wanted to make Sentebale’s work and governance more Africa-centric, and develop professionally-driven sources of funding rather than the occasional charitable polo match organised by the former royal and his mates – such as the awkward 2024 event where Dr Chandauka was asked to move around Harry and Meghan on the podium.

Sentebale’s chair went where many have feared to tread in her accusations – adding that his public image was so toxic after his acrimonious departure from the Royal Family that it was actively putting off donors and supporters. She said Sentebale needed to make clear, for its very survival, that it was not just an extension of his private endeavours. Sources I have spoken to in recent days say she is traumatised by what has happened and has been working desperately hard to ‘support’ the charity.

They point out that it was Team Harry who fired the first public salvo, speaking to The Times back in March to put out their version of events. Dr Chandauka, they say, was only reacting to that broadside when she went on television herself.

Regardless of whose side you’re on, there’s no doubt many who have taken an interest in the crisis feel a frisson of pleasure at seeing Harry being given a taste of his own medicine.

Sentebale needs to file its public accounts by the end of August and many on Harry’s side openly predict they are likely to show it has financially ‘tanked’.

[From The Daily Mail]

Given the multiple exclusives popping up in royalist media, I actually believe that “sources close to Harry” are speaking out. I think Harry is that mad, and I think the people around him are devastated to see him so upset. If I was in Harry’s shoes, I would say a lot of this sh-t with my whole chest though, don’t leave it to allies and unnamed former trustees. Do a sit-down interview with People Magazine or the NY Times (the NYT would be a better option) and really get into the nitty-gritty of Chandauka’s hostile takeover and the audacity of her lies. That would counter this nasty “frisson of pleasure at seeing Harry being given a taste of his own medicine.” I also think Chandauka has looted the charity, btw.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Sky News screencaps.