MEGHAN Markle allegedly “never liked” the Sentebale charity boss and the organisation’s downfall “started with her,” an insider has claimed.
A source told the Daily Mail that Prince Harry’s beloved charity unravelled after Meghan took a disliking to Dr Sophie Chandauka.
Harry “unleashed the Sussex machine” on her and it was “harassment and bullying at scale” after she tried to make changes within the organisation, according to the source.
They said: “The problem, though, started with Meghan – Meghan doesn’t like Sophie.”
An example of when the two high-flyers clashed was at the Grand Champions Polo Club on April 12 last year.
The Royal claimed she wouldn’t be attending the fundraiser before rocking up with a “very famous friend,” according to the chair.
Dr Sophie revealed this during a dramatic interview where she hit out at the royals and labelled their brand as “toxic.”
In a series of bombshell revelations, she said Meghan Markle caused disruption with her surprise arrival to the Grand Champions Polo Club with Tennis star Serena Williams on April 12 last year.
She explained how there was a lot of talk about the Duchess and the choreography on stage, whether she should have been there and her treatment of Dr Sophie.
Footage shows Meghan smiling as she goes to join Harry and his teammates on stage as they pose with the Grand Championship trophy.
Moments later, Dr Chandauka can be seen walking towards Harry, but Meghan directs her to stand next to her instead.
The source claimed Meghan refused to mingle at the charity event and went off to drink champagne with pal Serena Williams.
They said: “She [Dr Chandauka] wanted to take her around, to introduce her to other people, but Meghan didn’t want to mingle or engage with those supporting the event.
“She went off to the tent. Sophie found it rude. Staff working that day were asked to get champagne for Meghan, they were scrambling around – Sentebale and Archewell staff were both having to do that. Sentebale were not happy about this at all.”
It comes after the Duke of Sussex and Prince Seesio of Lesotho – who set up the charity in 2006 – sensationally resigned last month.
They slammed Dr Chandauka’s leadership as “untenable” and sided with trustees in a row over moving the charity’s fundraising operations to Africa.
In a joint statement, the duke and Prince Seeiso said they were resigning from their roles with “heavy hearts” and in “solidarity with the board of trustees”.
“It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation,” they said.
They said the trustees “acted in the best interest of the charity” by asking Dr Chandauka to step down, but that her decision to take legal action to retain her position was “further underscoring the broken relationship”.
A source close to trustees and patrons has since added that they “fully expected this publicity stunt” and “reached their collective decision with this in mind”.
The source said they remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and “look forward to the adjudication of the truth”.
Dr Chandauka has meanwhile argued that Harry’s move to the US worsened the situation at the charity and impacted its ability to diversify its donor pool.
The Sun has reached out to Archewell for a comment.
Timeline of events at Sentebale
2004: Prince Harry spends two months in Lesotho in a working visit during his gap year. Here he meets Aids orphans and vulnerable young people.
2006: Inspired by his visit two years prior, he sets up Sentebale with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, taking the name from the Sesotho language for the phrase “forget me not”.
2010: The first polo cup is held. Harry has regularly played in the annual tournament, helping to raise more than £11 million since the tournament’s creation.
2015: Harry attends the official opening of the charity’s flagship Mamohato Children’s Centre in Lesotho.
2020: Following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back as senior royals, Harry made his first public speech to Sentebale.
2023: Sophie Chandauka is appointed to the role of chair after Johnny Hornby resigns, following his five years in the position.
2024: Harry visits Lesotho in October for the first time in six years to showcase Sentebale’s work.
2025: In March, princes Harry and Seeiso release a joint statement announcing their resignation amid a row between the trustees and Chandauka.
In response, Chandauka slams “weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir” at the charity.
