Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, came under fire on Sunday, March 30, 2025, after Sophie Chandauka, chairwoman of Sentebale, accused him of “harassment and bullying at scale.” The heated allegation follows Harry’s sudden exit from the charity he co-founded nearly 20 years ago, sparking a messy public fallout. While Harry remains silent, the headlines are growing louder. Sentebale was launched by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, named in honor of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, and aimed at supporting children with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana. But on Tuesday, March 25, Harry, Seeiso, and all the trustees quit, saying they could no longer work with Chandauka. In a joint statement, they described the relationship as “broken beyond repair.” They said they’d asked Chandauka to step down—she refused and filed a legal challenge to stay. That’s when they all walked. Harry called it “devastating.” But on Sunday, Chandauka hit back.
Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning show with Trevor Phillips, Chandauka said she was blindsided by Harry’s exit—and accused him of deliberately damaging her and the charity. “The only reason I’m talking is because on Tuesday, Prince Harry let out a nasty piece of news to the world without telling me, my country directors, or my executive director,” she said. She blamed the “Sussex PR machine” for spreading the news fast, hurting morale across the charity’s 540-person staff. “Can you imagine what that attack did to me and the 540 people at Sentebale and their families?” she asked. “That’s harassment and bullying at scale.” She also claimed Harry had been trying to force her out for months using what she called rough tactics.
This fight didn’t come out of nowhere. In a Financial Times interview on Saturday, Chandauka—a Zimbabwean-born lawyer who’s led Sentebale since 2023—said Harry’s team once asked her to publicly defend Meghan Markle after bad press following a Miami fundraising event. She refused, saying she didn’t want the charity tangled in royal drama. She also said Harry’s fame has turned “toxic” since his Netflix series and his memoir Spare, which she claims has scared off donors and potential hires. “His brand’s the number one risk,” she told the FT, alleging that Harry and Seeiso were trying to “force a failure” at Sentebale so they could “swoop in and save it.”
A source close to the ex-trustees told CNN on Sunday that Harry and Seeiso’s decision was in the charity’s best interest. They say Chandauka was sent a resignation letter on March 10, well before the announcement, undermining her claim that she was blindsided. “Her accusations are baseless,” the source said. “This is a publicity stunt.” Harry and Meghan declined to respond to the Sky News interview, according to the broadcaster.
Chandauka has since reported the trustees to the UK Charity Commission, citing bullying, racism, sexism, and poor governance. But former trustee Dr. Kelello Lerotholi told Sky he never witnessed such behavior in meetings. Chandauka says she’s staying to “rebuild Sentebale for Africa,” refocusing it away from the UK. Meanwhile, Harry is out—after nearly two decades with the charity he helped build.
What began as a quiet resignation has now exploded into a public feud, and with both sides firmly dug in, the battle over Sentebale’s future—and Prince Harry’s role in it—continues to unfold.