Sophie Chandauka has given another interview. She’s barely stopped speaking to British tabloids and media outlets in the past week, even since Sentebale’s board of trustees resigned en masse, and then Sentebale’s cofounders and royal patrons Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso resigned as well. Chandauka took over as chairwoman of Sentebale in 2023 and she quickly began spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on pricey “consultants” that went nowhere. She ran to London to sue Sentebale when the board asked for her resignation, and she’s also filed what I can only imagine is a completely unhinged complaint to the UK’s Charity Commission. For now, she’s ensconced herself at Sentebale and she’s quickly replacing the now-vacant board. One of the newly-appointed trustees is Iain Rawlinson, who is described by the Financial Times as “a financier who was previously chair of Prince William’s conservation charity Tusk Trust and has been advising Chandauka.” That alone is the smoking gun of who is behind all of this, but in case you needed the confirmation, check out the asinine things Chandauka said to FT:
She claims that Harry is trying to force Sentebale into failure: The chair of an African charity co-founded by Prince Harry has accused him of trying to “force a failure” of the organisation, deepening an ongoing public row that has thrown Sentebale into disarray. Sophie Chandauka, chair of Sentebale since 2023, claimed the charity’s founders — Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho — “want to force a failure and then come to the rescue”. Representatives for Prince Harry later strongly denied he had sought to engineer the collapse of the charity in order to rescue it.
Harry was “toxic” for Sentebale’s brand: In her first interview since the dispute erupted, Chandauka defended her record as chair, insisted the organisation would “live on” and said Prince Harry’s “brand” had hindered the charity. “The number one risk for this organisation was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand,” Chandauka told the Financial Times.
She wanted to transform the charity: She told the FT that as Sentebale’s chair she had been on a mission to transform the charity — from overhauling the charity’s culture, operations and long-term strategy, with a focus on US fundraising. Chandauka said she also moved to widen its remit to include climate resilience and wealth inequality, while shifting more decision-making to leaders in southern Africa. “The way the organisation had been set up in 2006, was no longer appropriate in 2023 in a post-Black Lives Matter world,” said Chandauka. “Funders were asking for locally led initiatives.” The transition had triggered friction between UK-based staff and those in Lesotho, where most of the charity’s 500-plus workforce are based, and Botswana, Chandauka said. The board felt “a loss of power and control and influence . . . oh my goodness, the Africans are taking over”.
She showed her Charity Commission complaint to FT: Chandauka said she had filed a report to the Charity Commission that month. “I view the request for my resignation as being a direct response to my raising significant concerns regarding the Charity’s current governance, management and administration,” she wrote in the complaint, seen by the FT. On March 5, Chandauka took the dramatic step of applying to the UK High Court to try and block a boardroom vote to remove her. “They thought I wouldn’t have the audacity to proceed with a court action,” she said.
Prince William’s ally Iain Rawlinson is very involved: The newly formed board of Sentebale includes Iain Rawlinson, a financier who was previously chair of Prince William’s conservation charity Tusk Trust and has been advising Chandauka. He told the FT there had been a concerted effort by certain trustees “to destabilise and remove Sophie” from her position.
Chandauka’s version of the breakdown in relations: The origins of the dispute have been highly contested by both sides. Chandauka said she first felt tension between Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and herself in April 2024. Chandauka said she had refused what she described as a request by the royal’s team to defend his wife, Meghan, in the media after negative coverage of her. “I said no, we’re not setting a precedent by which we become an extension of the Sussex PR machine,” she said.
She thinks the Sussex brand damaged the charity Harry co-founded: She argued that the volatile public sentiment around Prince Harry since his move to the US and media fallout after the release of a Netflix documentary in 2022 and his book in 2023 had an impact on the charity’s ability to diversify its donor pool and make senior hires. “When you start to interview people, they’re asking questions about, well, these mixed messages around the patron,” she said.
The trustees’ version of events: A person familiar with the trustees’ account of events said: “The charity has been almost entirely reliant on the positive view of Prince Harry to raise funds.” They said the dispute had nothing to do with personal tensions: “There are real issues at hand that have been raised and not addressed. The trustees tried to negotiate this privately and requested she consider her position due to their lack of trust and confidence in her as a leader.” The person added: “The trustees were supportive of moving fundraising towards America, the problem was she failed to do that.” Lawyers for Prince Harry said there had been a breakdown in relations between the chair and key individuals, including some staff, trustees and major funders.
The board felt “a loss of power and control and influence . . . oh my goodness, the Africans are taking over.” At least one of the now-resigned trustees was from Lesotho. The co-founder of Sentebale is a prince of Lesotho and he resigned his position because of Chanduka’s unhinged behavior. “The Africans” were already in charge of the charity before Prince William’s white male henchman began “advising” this ridiculous woman.
“She argued that the volatile public sentiment around Prince Harry since his move to the US and media fallout after the release of a Netflix documentary in 2022 and his book in 2023 had an impact on the charity’s ability to diversify its donor pool and make senior hires” – this is a small charity which helps support kids with HIV. Harry is himself the biggest fundraiser and donor to Sentebale, raising millions over the years with his fundraising polo matches and donating $1.5 million from Spare to Sentebale. Yeah, he sure wanted to “force a failure,” huh?
“The way the organisation had been set up in 2006, was no longer appropriate in 2023 in a post-Black Lives Matter world.” This woman has an MBE honor from those colonizers, she’s being advised by Prince William’s ally and she’s stealing money from an African-based charity which supports African children.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
