Harry’s charity row proves he & Meg are hypocrites – for years they’ve acted like ‘victims’… until now, expert says
PRINCE Harry’s charity row proves he and Meghan Markle are “hypocrites”, an expert has claimed.
It comes after the head of a charity founded by the Duke of Sussex, 40, accused him of trying to “eject” her through “bullying” and “harassment”.
Harry announced on Tuesday that he and several trustees had quit Sentebale, the charity he set up with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, amid a boardroom battle within the organisation.
Sophie Chandauka has been chairwoman of Sentebale since 2023.
She accused the duke of being “involved” in a “cover-up” of an investigation about bullying, harassment and misogyny at the organisation.
Ms Chandauka also said the “toxicity” of his “brand” had impacted the charity.
Now Nick Ede, a brand and culture expert, has accused the Sussexes of hypocrisy saying for years they’ve claimed to be “victims”.
He told The Sun: “I think a lot of this is very hypocritical.
“I feel that when he wrote Spare and when they did the Oprah interview – it’s all been very much about them being victims.
“And suddenly now we have people saying actually they’re the victims.
“They’ve had to deal with negativity from both of those parties. That’s going to have a huge effect on their brand equity.”
The PR expert also said Meghan‘s message on Mother’s Day was “hypocritical”.
He continued: “We saw yesterday there was a Mother’s Day post from her talking about Mothering Sunday.
“Reflecting that back to the UK feels hypocritical because you said you didn’t want to go to the UK.
“The UK didn’t like you. You don’t want to be part of it. And suddenly you’re going ‘let’s celebrate Mothering Sunday’.”
“With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same,” said Harry and Prince Seeiso in a joint statement.
What is Sentebale?
Sentebale was set up to support those living in poverty, as well as those suffering from Aids and HIV, in Lesotho.
Prince Harry started the charity in honour of his mum, Princess Diana, who died in 1997.
He met his co-founder Prince Seeiso while on his gap year in 2004.
The word Sentebale means “forget-me-not” in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho.
“It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation,” they said.
“What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about.”
Speaking on Sky News‘s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, Ms Chandauka said: “Really, what Prince Harry wanted to do was to eject me from the organisation and this went on for months.
“It went on for months through bullying, harassment. I have documentation.
“There were board meetings where members of the executive team and external strategic advisors were sending me messages saying, ‘Should I interrupt? Should I stop this? Oh my gosh, this is so bad’.
“In fact, our strategic adviser for fundraising then sent me a message saying she wouldn’t want to ever attend any more board meetings or bring her colleagues because of the treatment.
“When that failed, Prince Harry started to brief, and his team, sponsors that I’ve been speaking to, against me and the charity because that is a sure way of getting me out if it’s seen as though I’m not being successful in my fundraising efforts.”
Asked about reports trustees had lost confidence in her leadership and whether she was “the problem”, rather than Harry, Dr Chandauka said: “It was me who was the problem, because I put a whistleblower complaint about the bullying, the harassment and the misogyny, and Prince Harry interfered in the investigation of that.
“And the senior independent director, who should have taken care of it, was the very same person who then delivered the news to me that I was going to be removed by the board.
“So it’s a cover-up, and the prince is involved.”
Ms Chandauka also criticised the manner of Harry’s resignation saying his decision to publicly release the news before informing her amounted to “harassment and bullying at scale”.
She said: “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.
Timeline of events at Sentebale
2004: Prince Harry spends two months in Lesotho in a working visit during his gap year. Here he meets Aids orphans and vulnerable young people.
2006: Inspired by his visit two years prior, he setups up Sentebale with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, taking the name from the Sesotho language for the phrase “forget me not”.
2010: The first polo cup is held. Harry has regularly played in the annual tournament, helping to raise more than £11 million since the tournament’s creation.
2015: Harry attends the official opening of the charity’s flagship Mamohato Children’s Centre in Lesotho.
2020: Following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back as senior royals, Harry made his first public speech to Sentebale.
2023: Sophie Chandauka is appointed to the role of chair after Johnny Hornby resigns, following his five years in the position.
2024: Harry visits Lesotho in October for the first time in six years to showcase Sentebale’s work.
2025: In March, princes Harry and Seeiso release a joint statement announcing their resignation amid a row between the trustees and Chandauka.
In response, Chandauka slams “weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir” at the charity.
“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.”
In a separate interview with the Financial Times, Ms Chandauka defended her record at the charity and claimed she had experienced “disrespect, bullying and intimidation” and “misogyny and misogynoir” in her role.
She also claimed public sentiment around Harry since he moved to the US had impacted the charity’s ability to reach new donors and hire senior staff.
In a joint statement announcing their resignation earlier this week, Harry and Prince Seeiso said they had stepped back until further notice.
They said it was “devastating” that the relationship between Sentebale’s trustees and chairwoman of the board “broke down beyond repair”.
According to The Times newspaper, the dispute arose around a decision to focus fundraising in Africa.
Former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West said their decision to resign was “devastating” but was the “result of our loss in trust and confidence in the chair of the board”.
A source close to the trustees and patrons described Ms Chandauka’s interviews as a “publicity stunt”.
They added: “They remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth.”
The Charity Commission said it was “aware of concerns about the governance” of Sentebale.
“We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps,” the commission added.
Harry’s two-month trip to the kingdom of Lesotho during his gap year aged 19 inspired him to establish the charity two years later in honour of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The young duke came face-to-face with Aids orphans, met other traumatised young people and visited herd boys living a harsh existence looking after cattle in remote mountain areas.
The duke and Sentebale have been approached for comment.