The British monarchy has lasted not by standing still, but by knowing when to change. From the Glorious Revolution to the Netflix era, its survival has depended on the art of adaptation. But five years after breaking from the Firm, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appear to be challenging that legacy—not by modernizing the crown, but by testing the patience of those closest to them. Once hailed as disruptors with a cause, the Sussexes now face growing criticism not just from palace insiders but from the very institutions they once claimed to uplift. The latest fallout: allegations of bullying and toxicity from inside Harry’s own charity.
In another development landing a blow to already-troubled Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,
Sophie Chandauka, who chairs Sentebale, the charity Harry recently departed from, has appeared on British television accusing him of “harassment and bullying at scale” and stated their reputation had become “toxic”.
According to Chandauka, fundraising has declined since Megxit, with Harry being identified as the primary concern for Sentebale. She claimed that wealthy donors have withdrawn their support from his charity, citing Prince Harry’s book publication of Spare.
Speaking to Sky News, Chandauka said that the duchess had interrupted a charity polo event by arriving unexpectedly when the duke had already complicated matters by bringing a Netflix film crew to record his polo series that failed to deliver.
“The duchess decided to attend, but she told us she wasn’t attending, and she brought a friend, a very famous friend,” Dr Chandauka said. “The choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage.”
Cameras reportedly recorded uncomfortable moments when Meghan appeared to instruct Chandauka to move away from Harry, resulting in her awkwardly ducking beneath a polo trophy. Chandauka called it a ‘bad day’.
“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,” she added.
When this unusual interaction gained attention online, the duke reportedly requested Chandauka to defend his wife – a request she declined.
“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,” she said.
‘Prince Harry started to brief team against me’
Sentebale was set up by the prince in 2006 in memory of his mother, Princess Diana, to help young people with HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.
Chandauka also accused Prince Harry of attempting to force her out of a charity established in memory of his mother, even suggesting he tried to cause the organization’s failure when she refused to leave.
“There were board meetings where members of the executive team and external strategic advisers were sending me messages saying, ‘Should I interrupt?’, ‘Should I stop this?’ ‘Oh my gosh, this is so bad’,” she said.
She revealed that the situation became so uncomfortable that strategic advisers withdrew from meetings. “In fact, our strategic adviser for fundraising then sent me a message saying she wouldn’t want to ever attend any more board meetings or bring her colleagues because of the treatment,” she said.
Dr Chandauka claimed Prince Harry attempted to undermine her position by speaking against her to sponsors. “Prince Harry started to brief, and his team, sponsors that I had been speaking to, against me and the charity, because that is a sure way of getting me out if it’s seen as though I’m not being successful in my fundraising efforts,” she said.
It has been almost five years since Megxit. On April 1, 2020, Harry and Meghan began a life without palace or official ties to the British Crown.
‘No one has courage to speak when the prince is in room’
Dr Chandauka accused Prince Harry of making additions to the board without consulting her.”Prince Harry decides, on this specific occasion, that he wants to appoint an individual to the board, with immediate effect, without having talked to me,” she said.
“His proxy on the board says, ‘Yes, I second that motion’. The third proxy on the board says, ‘Welcome to the board, Brian’.
“And everybody’s shocked and quiet, but this is what happens when the prince is in the room and no one has the courage to speak.”
