Prince Harry is ‘absolutely disgusted’ that Sophie Chandauka invoked Diana’s name

Let’s be perfectly clear: Sophie Chandauka committed a hostile takeover of Sentebale, then publicly smeared the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The Charity Commission found absolutely no evidence of anyone associated with Sentebale bullying Chandauka or being sexist or racist to her. The whole point of Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso’s March resignations from Sentebale (not to mention the resignations from a majority of Sentebale’s board of trustees) was to force Chandauka to step down as chairwoman after her gross mismanagement. Instead, she’s now behaving as if Sentebale is HER charity, and that she has the full use of the names of Seeiso and Harry’s mothers.

After the Charity Commission’s report came out this week, Chandauka’s public statement included this: “Despite the recent turbulence, we will always be inspired by the vision of our Founders, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, who established Sentebale in memory of their precious mothers, Princess Diana and Queen ‘Mamohato’.” A source close to the former trustees told People Magazine that they found the invocation of Diana and Queen Mamohato to be “appalling.” On Wednesday, a source close to Prince Harry told the Telegraph:

“For Sophie Chandauka to have invoked Princess Diana’s memory in her own defence was in the poorest possible taste. She’s got what she wants, which is control of the charity, but unfortunately the people who suffer most out of all of this…are the children of Lesotho and Botswana.”

Prince Harry is said to be “emotionally devastated” and “drained” after losing the battle for control of the charity which he has championed for the last 19 years.

“The most devastating thing for Prince Harry in all of this is that his life’s work and all the money he was able to pump into Lesotho and Botswana through his work has gone down in flames,” the source added. “She’s allowing it to go down in flames because of her own pride and hubris…[Harry] has for the last 19 years established this charity from nothing.”

[From The Telegraph]

I keep thinking about the money too, and how much money Harry has poured into Sentebale, all to continue the vital work of providing education and health services to children with HIV. He put more than $1 million of his memoir profits into Sentebale. He’s traveled around the world playing charity polo matches in support of the charity. And Chandauka has looted those funds and destroyed Seeiso and Harry’s legacies in Lesotho. Additionally, a “source close to Harry” also spoke to Tom Sykes’ Royalist Substack:

A source close to Harry…told me the prince was “emotionally devastated” by what has happened. He is also incredibly angry. Harry believes the charity, which has helped hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest and most desperate children cope with HIV, either directly or in their family, over the past 19 years, has effectively been “tanked” by Chandauka.

Adding a new level of anguish, he is “absolutely disgusted” that Chandauka has invoked the memory and legacy of his mother to attack him in her own statement issued today. Harry is also, I think it’s fair to say, ruing the day in July 2023, that Chandauka was appointed chair of the board, giving her a powerbase from which to launch her “hostile takeover” of the charity, as he is characterizing it to his allies.

The source said: “Sophie Chandauka is intelligent, articulate and charismatic and she used that charisma to manipulate people around her, to effect this power grab and basically steal away Prince Harry and Prince Seesio’s life’s work. Harry is emotionally distraught at what has happened. He has given blood, sweat and tears for the charity. He has given a significant amount of his own wealth to it, and it is especially disgusting that Sophie Chandauka has today mentioned, and tried to invoke the memories of their mothers, Princess Diana and Queen ‘Mamohato, using their names and their memories against their own sons. It is appalling.”

The source added: “In the 19 years since Harry and Prince Seeiso set the charity up, it has helped over 100,000 children. In the short term that Sophie Chandauka has been in post, she has dragged the charity into the mud. She has tanked the charity. Now, the Charity Commission have found her all her claims about racism and misogyny to be baseless. They are false.”

The Harry source said: “She did all this to divert attention away from her financial irregularities. She continues to double down on it because she knows she is in the wrong.”

[From The Royalist Substack]

Chandauka’s audacity knows no bounds. I wish Harry was even half as vindictive as his family, honestly. I wish he would go to the mattresses and really set out to destroy Chandauka. Sue her into oblivion, make her persona non grata with all donors and potential donors, and amplify the f–k out of her associations with Prince William’s long-time allies. Make sure that absolutely everyone knows what she’s done. Ensure that everyone knows that she’s a liar and fantasist.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Sky News.