Sophie Chandauka’s statement about Prince Harry & Sentebale is bizarre

In the early half of 2024, The Times of London and other British outlets (notably the Daily Mail) were running a full-scale pressure campaign to somehow force Prince Harry to remove himself from the board of African Parks. Harry had been the president of AP for six years, then he was promoted to board member. While there were genuine controversies involving AP, the British media did a “big stretch” to make every single of those controversies solely about Harry and how HE needed to resign from AP. Suspiciously enough, the Times published a piece, adjacent to that campaign, about how Prince William and Harry had always “fought about Africa” and William didn’t like how Harry had access to all of that money and power. It felt like William was behind the way the AP stuff was covered.

Anyway, I decided to take that trip down memory lane because I’m getting deja vu with this Sentebale mess. The way everything has come out, it feels like another operation from Windsor Inc. Long story short, Sentebale’s board of trustees didn’t agree with the direction their chairwoman Sophie Chandauka was trying to take on Sentebale’s behalf, and so they asked her to resign as chair. She refused, and ran straight to the Charity Commission in the UK to sue them. This week, Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso and Prince Harry, Sentebale co-founders and patrons of Sentebale, resigned in protest, taking the side of the trustees. The Daily Mail’s Becky English bizarrely gloated about the situation, suggesting that it never would have happened if Harry was still a working royal. In yesterday’s coverage, I used some coverage of Chandauka’s statement, but here it is in full:

Dr. Chandauka said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that she had been “guided by the principles of fairness and equitable treatment for all, regardless of social status or financial means.”

“There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct,” the statement continued.

Dr. Chandauka added that this is “the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir – and the coverup that ensued.”

She also went on to say that her work with the charity was “not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account.”

“I will continue to faithfully perform my role as Chair of the Board, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with others who are interested in issues of health, wealth and climate resilience for young people in Africa,” Dr. Chandauka added.

[From People]

“Then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct…” Like… was her statement written by Piers Morgan or something? We’re talking about a charity which provided healthcare for kids with HIV. When has Harry “played the victim card” ever, but specifically about Sentebale or his work in Lesotho? This woman sounds completely delulu. “The story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power…” She is the one with the power? She is the chairwoman. She is the weak executive. She is the one poorly governing.

A few more things – Chandauka was the woman “bullied” (lol) by Meghan at the polo match last year. The bullying incident was when they were all taking photos with the polo team and Chandauka thought she would stand on Prince Harry’s right side and Meghan said “do you want to come stand over here,” motioning to her left. That was the big drama, which was amplified by the British royalists. Lastly, CNN covered the Sentebale mess, and they noted this: Britain’s PA Media news agency “said [Chandauka] claimed she had reported the trustees to the UK’s Charity Commission and that a UK court had issued an injunction to stop her dismissal. CNN has not seen a copy of the alleged injunction from the UK’s High Court. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that no such order had been issued.” She lied about an injunction?

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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56 Responses to “Sophie Chandauka’s statement about Prince Harry & Sentebale is bizarre”

  1. Tessa says:

    The derangers are now going on about the so called bullying when Meghan was in the center of the trophy presentation. Derangers pore over pictures of Meghan to try to get something on her
    Very creepy

    • Julia says:

      I wouldn’t worry about that tbh because any normal person who watches that video can see that no bullying occurred. Asking someone to stand in the middle of a photo is not bullying.

    • Jane says:

      Well, well, well — someone is white anting the Prince of Lesotho and Prince Harry— who is behind this woman’s antics? Royalists, political adversaries of the Prince of Lesotho, Rupe’s malicious camp, KP dwellers and or the most senior Royals????

  2. ThatGirlThere says:

    She is so shady. Someone is behind this and I suspect it’s Charles and Will or a Charles and Will ally.

    • Nlopez says:

      I agree 100 percent. This woman is a op, and the “royals” are behind it. She should be ashamed of herself for siding with racists!

  3. Lawrenceville says:

    ooohhhkay, the plot thickens. I’m intrigued, especially about her wanting to pose in a certain position in close proximity to Harry Sussex.

  4. Blogger says:

    This woman probably wanted her Harry photo-ops so she could sell access to him the way Fergie and Sophie tried to with the other royals.

    She’s no saint and she’s behaving very disgracefully.

  5. LADY DIGBY says:

    What powers does the Charity Commission have?
    The Commission may exercise its powers to investigate, supervise, and monitor a charity in order to protect charity assets, beneficiaries and uphold public trust in the sector.

    The Commission may intervene in several ways:
    LINK FOR DETAILED EXPLANATION
    https://www.russell-cooke.co.uk/news-and-insights/news/navigating-regulatory-engagement-with-the-charity-commission
    It is in Sentebale’s best interests for the Charity Commission to investigate to uphold public trust that it is financially sound and being properly run.

    • kirk says:

      Lady Digby – Thank you for your helpful explanations and links during this sorry saga. It’s been helpful to Americans to understand differences for UK nonprofits and role of Charity Commission. Have to agree with you – Sentebale’s best outcome would be for the Charity Commission to investigate. Don’t know whether they have the power to force disgorgement in case Chandauka has personally benefited from improper use of charity funds, but I suspect that’s what’s happened.

  6. SarahLee says:

    Obviously I don’t understand how this board is structured. If she is the Chair, my assumption would be that she was elected or appointed by the board. No resignation would be required. She would simply resign or be let go. This may be my US bias showing here, though. It may not work the same across the world.

  7. Snuffles says:

    I’m going with she embezzled money. The question is, did she act alone or on behalf of Charles or William?

    • Hypocrisy says:

      My thoughts exactly.. follow the money.💰

    • s808 says:

      This was my assumption too based on the People piece (hope I’m not thread-jacking!) $600K on “consultants” for new ideas after the flagship polo event was canceled due to her falling out with a major donor? IDK, that screams mismanagement and embezzlement.

  8. She unfortunately sounds like trump with people being above the law when they themself are doing exactly that. She is there on a voluntary basis and when the trustees asked her to step down she should have done so but she is trying to be above the law and suing them. Someone in the comments yesterday said she has OBE from the Royal family and that she was involved with earthshot. I sincerely hope that this is not a ploy on her part to somehow get Peg involved because she is taking a side.

    • Alarmjaguar says:

      It is definitely a mess — and this statement: She also went on to say that her work with the charity was “not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account.” Doesn’t make sense to me b/c I’ve seen elsewhere that her position is voluntary. So which is it, is it paid or voluntary? And if the latter, why can’t she resign? Anyway, mess and I feel bad for everyone doing the good work of helping kids.

  9. Gemini says:

    She is following Meghan McCain on X. Predictable!

  10. Dee(2) says:

    So the injunction doesn’t exist, she spent 600k on ” consultants” , after she lost the major sponsor and she’s the one that’s calling out poor governance? Yeah, it sounds like she’s hoping the UK press and their hatred of Harry will launder the sketchiness of what she was doing behind the scenes. Their catch-all is accusing the Sussexes of ” bullying” and you can’t tell me she didn’t know that when she went to the paper that literally just paid Harry a settlement. Problem is this organization has existed for 20 years, and she’s the new person. It’s going to be difficult outside of the tabloids to point out how they have always been the problem.

    I wonder about the remaining staff. Are they there because they need their job, they’re fearful of her retribution, they’re hopeful that this will get resolved soon and she will get the boot and the board and Princes’ will return and they are just waiting it out.

  11. Jais says:

    Let me get this strait. The entire board resigned right? Not one person was on her side? And then she appointed a whole new board. And lied about an injunction. And is making statements that sound like they’re written by the DM. And going to the Sun, one of the most misogynistic papers around and repeating the talking point that Harry plays the victim card. What a mess.

    • Lady Digby says:

      Agreed @Jais Sophie went for Harry’s jugular with her statement: it did indeed read like something Piers Morgan would have written. Also she fell out with the major funder of the Sentebale Polo Cup ? Why alienate a major funder? Rupert Murdoch is furious about Harry and Tom Watson forcing an admission about wrong doing at the Scum. Recently the Scum had a front cover on FK love of football. Now they have Sophie’s version and her rancourous statement ?

  12. sunshine says:

    i still have no idea what this whole ‘scandal’ is even about..?

  13. somebody says:

    They put some statement on Instagram about the people doing the work being important and not the patrons. It seems to me though Harry and Seeiso were the ones bringing in the donations. And, Seeiso is apparently well-liked in Lesotho so I would think losing his support would have an adverse effect on the charity.

    • sevenblue says:

      @somebody, I mean of course people on the ground are the ones doing the actual work. However, to do that work, they need funds. What differentiated them from other charities was two Princes. Are they gonna claim now it wasn’t the patrons who did most of the fundraising?

      Some of W&K’s charities closed down. Not because the people there didn’t do the work, but because of insufficient funds.

  14. Daielle says:

    I’m curious if there’s a trademark or something on the name Sentebale. I know it’s a word, so maybe it can’t be trademarked, but could Sophie Chandauka essentially take over the charity, almost like a new business owner? I don’t understand how there are no protections in place for something like this.

    • Jaded says:

      Sentebale means “forget me not” which was Diana’s favourite flower. As far as trademarks are concerned, the charity was registered in 2006 and Harry tried to get it trademarked in the US last year but the US Patent and Trademark Office turned the application down because it thought some of the categories were “inadequately defined”. Hmmmm…

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        Not only was it Diana’s favourite flower, Princes Harry & Seesio chose that name for the charity deliberately, as they created the charity in memorial to their own mothers, whom they both lost when they were young.

        Hence “Forget Me Not”.

        So this is a charity that is very personal to the Princes’ hearts. And it’s the first charity Harry successfully launched ‘on his own’, that is to say, independent of The Firm. To have an outsider come in, probably at the behest of Cluck and/or Huevo, to destroy it from within (and probably embezzle funds)? Whoever signed off on this parade of jackassery was hoping it would really hurt Harry personally. They really were hoping and trying to strike to create an emotional wound with this. Which is why the sewer sludge masquerading as British tabloid media have risen up from the coastal beach sands of Salt Island to dance with glee over this enormity.

        Fortunately, Harry is surrounded by good people, doesn’t have an empty soul like those attacking him, and has actually got years of good therapy (and also good lawyers) going so he’ll ride this out.

  15. Amy Bee says:

    As I said yesterday, her statement, which she first gave to the Sun, was unhinged. The part found by CNN is very interesting and I question why the British press didn’t report that there were no filings in court or to the Charity Commission.

    • jais says:

      Like you said, giving her first statement to the Sun is a giant red flag. And a huge portion of the BM is only too happy to have something to gloat about in terms of Harry. They’re rushing to create headlines about bullying and racism with Harry’s name in them. And Sophie gave them that ammunition with her statement. Did the BM just not check about the filings in their excitement or did they purposely omit them? I could see either really.

  16. Amy G says:

    I don’t understand how one woman can essentially take over and destroy an organization and the founders and chair can’t do anything about it. Couldn’t they remove her from her position?
    And it sounds like she was saying all fundraising should be from within Africa to make it more a locally supported org and they were saying “let’s bring in resources from other continents.”

  17. AR says:

    YES, YES Kaiser! I wrote the same thing yesterday but didn’t add it yet because I had trouble with the English phrases. I’m posting it now… If this is not SABOTAGE, then I am Snow White. Note that William has always sabotaged and tried to take over what Harry does and the people associated with him, giving them medals, invitations to the palace, etc. He tried it with Jose Andres, Nacho Figueras, people associated with Invictus, etc. But sometimes he succeeds and takes control of people working/sympathizing with HM, like the former Prime Minister of New Zealand and most likely Sophie Chandauka. She already worked in Sentebale on the board for 7 years, so it was easy to bring her in. again
    A red light should go off for Harry, because she clearly established relations with the palace. she took part in Earthshot, and the palace awarded her a medal in 2021. Can you imagine suddenly rewarding a long-time employee of Harry’s for no reason??
    A few months later, in July 2023, she was appointed Chair of Sentable and the demolition began immediately.
    Who suggested her?

    He looks like a recruited Trojan horse to destroy the organization from the inside, and these weird texts clearly referring to Harry seem to confirm that. Fuck the sick kids, what matters is that Harry’s organization goes under 🙁

    • Jaded says:

      @AR — Certainly getting into a cozy quid-pro-quo relationship with the FK would be a big step upwards for Chandauka, and William would see it as a golden opportunity to smear and belittle his little brother’s reputation as a globally recognized philanthropist. William’s threat about “wanting Africa” seems to be getting traction. I’m also wondering how she just happened to have a new board at the ready in such a short period of time. These things don’t just happen overnight. I really hope the Charity Commission does a deep dive investigation into this mess because it’s starting to stink like week-old fish.

  18. Nanea says:

    This is such a big, absurd, strange mess, and I feel sorry for everyone hurt by the fallout.

    I hope for the sake of the (mostly) children who benefit from Sentebale’s support that this gets resolved quickly *and* fully.

    Several Squaddies who are making monthly donations have halted those. Several Squaddies also mentioned how quickly substantial sums were raised by us for events like birthdays. The Squad was even listed in one of those end-of-the-year reports.

    Dr Chandauka should never have been allowed to waste $ 600,000++ for consultants, and I do hope restitutions will be made, and everyone who was somehow involved in this gets to be unmasked.

  19. Lizzie says:

    From the Blake Lively school of ‘I better get my way or just wait until you see how I smear you and make myself a victim’.

  20. Newt says:

    This had William written all over it when I read about it yesterday. He HATES how successful Harry has always been in his endeavors because he’s a lazy bully. The charity will likely – sadly – end up folding. BUT…..Harry and Prince Seeiso will start a new charity and the sponsors who left under this woman’s leadership will rejoin them.

    • AR says:

      Sentebale has too deep roots to fall so easily. The withdrawal is temporary, as are the sponsors. In addition to acting out of loyalty, if they did not do so, they would be legally co-responsible for Chandauka’s actions.

      The palace reeks of sabotage from a mile away.
      I remind you that Chandauka has recently become a part of the palace; she participated in Earthshot, and in 2021 she received a medal. William didn’t drag her there for nothing.

  21. wolfmamma says:

    Seems as if she is coming from the Trumpian view of the world.
    Project and deflect through outright lying.

  22. Hiawatha says:

    She spent £600k (that’s a crazy amount) on “consultants” to dredge up new fundraising ideas? Is this not a charity supporting HIV kids/ orphans?
    You don’t pay consultants, they volunteer their ideas for free / pro bono – surely?
    Anyone smell a rat?

  23. AR says:

    Everything looks like a prepared action. It looks like she was recruited by William, accepted the honors and is pursuing her palace goal. It took her less than a year to lose over 2 million PLN – about 1.5 million from Polo and 600 thousand spent on “consultants”.
    Harry spoke of a temporary suspension of their roles, I hope so. For now, it looks like a hostile takeover, in which William was the initiator. He came across a Chandauka and used it to take Sentebale away from his brother. I hope it won’t work out and the Prince of Lesotho and Harry will get to the root of this situation. For now, there is information that despite Chandauka’s assurances that she filed a lawsuit to the court, which blocked her departure, there is no trace of either the lawsuit or the court’s decision. It seems that the same is true for Charity Commisson, to whom she supposedly wrote, but there is no trace.
    I don’t know if this information is still relevant, but it seems like she’s acting wildly, like a boor.
    HARRY WATCH OUT FOR INVICTUS!!!!

  24. Cee says:

    Can Sentebale even survive without Harry involved?

  25. Tricia says:

    This is madness. To take something wonderful and precious and destroy it, it boggles the mind.

  26. MsIam says:

    Just wondering how Sophie had access to make payments of that large of an amount without board approval? Most boards have to approve any expenses over a certain amount. Most well run charities require two signatures to approve expenditures. So I think it will come out that she was either embezzling or was approving expenses without board review. Perhaps she was breaking up payments into smaller amounts to fly under the approval radar. Either way, this doesn’t pass the smell test. Plus if she lied about an injunction and filing a complaint? Sounds like she’s buying time to get ready to skidaddle out of town.

    • AR says:

      There was information in some media that despite Chandauka’s assurances that she filed a lawsuit to the court, which blocked her departure, there is no trace of either the lawsuit or the court’s decision. It seems that the same is true for Charity Commisson, to whom she supposedly wrote, but there is no trace. I don’t know if this information is still relevant, but it seems like she’s acting wildly, like a boor.
      APPEAL TO HARRY!
      WATCH OUT FOR INVICTUS!!!!

  27. Lady Esther says:

    Now Richard Kay – a known William mouthpiece – is piling on in the Daily Mail…if that doesn’t suggest Windsor fingers in the pie, I don’t know what does…

  28. Arhus says:

    She got her fraudulent payday cutoff and went and sued them? Wow!

  29. Wesley says:

    “who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct,” That sounds like William & the tale they tell themselves & the media about Harry leaving, about the Oprah interview & Spare.

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