Meghan Markle’s awkward, “rude” photo op last April with Sophie Chandauka, the embattled chairwoman of Prince Harry’s African charity Sentebale, is likely to get a new look in light of Harry’s extraordinary announcement this week that he was stepping down from the organization he co-founded amid an increasingly bitter conflict over Chandauka’s leadership.
Harry announced this week that he and his Sentebale co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, had no choice but to step down from the organization, saying that their relationship with Chandauka had broken down “beyond repair, creating an untenable situation,” as the Times UK reported.
But Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, hit back with a statement of her own, presenting herself to the global media as a “whistleblower” who was exposing “abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir” — prejudice against Black women– within the organization.
Chandauka also suggested that the nearly 20-year-old nonprofit was a “vanity project” for Harry and the other departing trustees and decried people — like Harry? — “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.”
Now, observers — and critics — of Harry and Meghan are likely to seek early clues of internal Sentebale conflicts by revisiting a video clip of Meghan’s visibly uncomfortable encounter with Chandauka last April, at the conclusion of a polo match held near Miami to raise money for the nonprofit.
After Harry’s team won the Sentebale Polo Cup, Meghan took the stage to present her husband and his team with a trophy. The American Duchess of Sussex also positioned herself in the center of a group photo op with team members.
Meghan was then recorded inviting Chandauka up on stage for the photo op, but the former TV actor also told the Sentebale leader to move aside so that she wouldn’t be standing next to her husband, multiple media outlets, including Page Six, The Mirror and the Miami Herald, reported at the time.
Meghan seemed determined to position herself next to Harry for a photo. But that left Chandauka having to awkwardly duck under the trophy to get to where the duchess wanted her to stand, prompting people on social media to question the duchess’ motives.
Some said Meghan was being “pushy,” “rude,” “controlling,” “self-obsessed” and needing to be the center of attention — even though Chandauka, as the chair of Sentebale, had “every right to stand next to” the prince at an event that’s supposed to be a fundraiser for their nonprofit. Others wondered whether Meghan was revealing herself to be “insecure” about other women getting to stand next to her husband.
But others defended the duchess by arguing that she was actually trying to position Chandauka so that she would have a center spot in the group photo. It only got awkward because Harry kept his hand on the trophy, and Chandauka had to maneuver around that, they said.
Now, another reading could be seen in light of this week’s revelations about Harry’s bitter legal and public relations fight with Chandauka over the future of Sentebale.
It’s possible that Meghan was aware that tensions were brewing between her husband and the chairwoman, who was appointed to her post last year. Perhaps Meghan was just trying to place herself between them so that the two would feel less uncomfortable.
Whatever Meghan’s intentions, the situation between her husband and Chandauka couldn’t have become more poisonous in the past week.
Harry appeared eager to get ahead of the brewing controversy this week that he had resigned from Sentebale, saying he and Seeiso were “in shock” and “truly heartbroken” to be stepping down.
Harry and Seeiso helped establish Sentebale in Lesotho in 2006, saying they wanted to help young people in Lesotho and Botswana living in poverty and caught up in the AIDS/HIV crisis. The princes said they established the organization in honor of their late mothers. Harry’s mother, of course, was Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
In addition to participating in the charity polo match in April, Harry also attended events in New York and Africa last year in support of the organization.
The Times UK reported that Harry and the other trustees had lost trust and confidence in Chandauka. The dispute with Chandauka also arose around a decision to focus fundraising in Africa, according to the Times. There had been previous reports of strife within the organization after it moved its operations to Africa, and several key figures left.
In her statement to the media, Chandauka didn’t hold back in criticizing Harry and the other trustees, saying she had filed a lawsuit in the High Court in the U.K. where the nonprofit is registered. The Charity Commission in the U.K., which registers and regulates nonprofits in England and Wales, confirmed to the Times UK that they are investigating Chandauka’s claims.
In her statement, Chandauka said 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.”
Misogynoir also is described as “hatred of or aversion to Black women,” according to Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries. Chandauka’s use of this term could be seen as pointed at Harry, who had tried to present himself as enlightened on racial matters after decrying racism directed against his biracial wife, Meghan Markle.
In his announcement, Harry said that he and Seeiso would be sharing “all of our concerns” with the Charity Commission.