LONDON: A bitter boardroom row at an African charity Prince Harry founded and then quit escalated on Sunday after its chairperson accused the prince of “bullying” and being involved in a “cover up”.

Earlier this week, Harry and Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso announced their depar­ture from the Sentebale charity they founded in 2006 following a “devastating” dispute between trustees and board chair Sophie Chandauka.

Relations with Chandauka, who was appointed in 2023, “broke down beyond repair”, they said in a joint statement on Tuesday, prompting trustees to leave and demand that Chandauka resign.

In the latest allegations, Chandauka accused Harry, who founded the charity in memory of his mother Princess Diana, of trying to force her out through “bullying (and) harassment” in an interview with Sky News. Prince Harry did not give Sky News a formal response to the allegations, but some former trustees have questioned the veracity of the claims.

According to Chandauka, there was a culture of “silence” at the organisation, with board members reluctant to speak out against the Duke of Sussex, whom she accused of “belligerence” in board meetings and beyond.

In one example, Chandauka criticised Harry for his decision to bring a Netflix camera crew to the charity’s polo fundraiser last year, as well as an unplanned appearance by his wife Meghan at the event.

Following critical media coverage of the fundraiser, she claimed Harry “asked me to issue some sort of a statement in support of the Duchess (of Sussex)”.

She alleged the request to back Meghan was a push by the “Sussex PR machine” that “supports Prince Harry’s efforts”. Former trustee Kelello Lerotholi told Sky News he did not recognise the allegations of boardroom rifts and discontent.

A source close to the trustees told the BBC they “fully expected this publicity stunt” after they left the board.

Former British politician Lynda Chalker, who quit as a trustee in November after nearly 20 years, described Chandauka’s governance style as “almost dictatorial”.

Chalker told The Times she left because she was “not happy with the direction” the chair was taking. Harry founded the charity in honour of his mother with Seeiso to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and later Botswana.

“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,” the co-founders said in their resignation.

According to Chandauka, relations broke down after she complained about “the harassment and the misogyny” in the organisation including by individuals on the board.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2025