Prince Harry accused of sending ‘unpleasant’ message to charity boss who refused to publicly defend Meghan Markle
Prince Harry has been accused of sending an 'unpleasant' email to a charity boss when she failed to publicly defend his wife, Meghan Markle.
Dr Sophie Chandauka, who is the head of African charity, Sentebale, was reportedly sent an 'imperious' message following an uncomfortable exchange with the Duchess of Sussex last April.
In a video that has circulated across social media in recent months, Meghan could be seen asking Dr Chandauka to move places - away from Prince Harry - while posing for a photograph on the podium at a Sentabale charity polo match.
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Harry had captained the winning team in the match and according to Dr Chandauka, Meghan appeared at the event last minute, alongside Serena Williams and a Netflix camera crew, despite the charity not knowing she would be there.
According to sources, as per the Telegraph, following the awkward moment, Harry had contacted the charity boss, asking her to issue a statement in order to quell any rumours of tension.
However, Dr Chaundauka told Sky News over the weekend that there were two reasons why she wouldn't issue the statement.
Speaking of Meghan showing up at the event, she said: “We’re excited about it, we would have been really excited [if] we know ahead of time, but we didn’t, and so the choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage.
“The international press captured this, and there was a lot of talk about the Duchess and the choreography on stage and whether she should have been there and her treatment of me.
“Prince Harry asked me to issue some sort of a statement in support of the Duchess and I said I wouldn’t, not because I didn’t care about the Duchess, but because I knew what would happen if I did so, number one.
“And number two, because we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes.”
Prince Harry then allegedly sent an 'unpleasant' email asking that the charity boss 'explain herself'.
According to the Telegraph, a spokesman for Sentebale confirmed the Duke had sent the message.
“This is true. There is a document,” they said.
The incident is said to have contributed to the growing tensions between Harry and some members of the organisation, with Harry stepping down as patron of the charity last Tuesday, claiming the 'relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board had broken down beyond repair.'
Harry set up Sentebale in 2006, in Lesotho, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, in honour of his later mother, Princess Diana, in order to help children and young people particularly those with HIV and Aids - alongside Prince Seeiso.
“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," Dr Chandauka told Trevor Phillips.
“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 the interview, Dr Chandauka also made a shocking claim, alleging that there had been an attempted 'cover up'.
“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. So it’s a cover up – and the Prince is involved," she said.
Tyla has reached out to Prince Harry's reps for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Meghan Markle, News, Prince Harry, Charity, UK News
Lucy Devine