Prince Harry demanded charity chair publicly defend Meghan over awkward stage moment
A furious Prince Harry demanded to know why the chair of his African charity would not speak out to defend Meghan after footage of the Duchess ordering her around on stage went viral.
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Prince Harry allegedly sent an “unpleasant” message to Dr Sophie Chandauka, the chair of his Sentebale charity, after she refused to publicly defend Meghan Markle following an awkward exchange.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, demanded Ms Chandauka “explain herself” after she declined to issue a statement supporting his wife when their polo match tension made headlines in April 2024 according to The New York Post.
Video of the awkward exchange showed the Suits alum, 43, move Ms Chandauka away from Harry as she clutched a trophy during a photo op.
As the tense moment made rounds on social media, Harry had his team ask the former global COO of Morgan Stanley’s shared services and banking operations to “issue some sort of a statement in support” of Meghan, sources told the Telegraph.
“I knew what would happen if I did so, number one. And number two, because we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes,” Ms Chandauka said of her decision to not issue a statement when asked.
According to the insider, Harry’s note to her was “unpleasant” and included “imperious” language.
The Post has reached out to Harry’s reps for comment.
Her refusal to speak out in defence of the former actor kickstarted a bitter feud behind closed doors, which prompted Harry’s abrupt and shocking exit from the charity last week.
While a Sentebale spokesman confirmed that “this is true” and “there is a document,” the Daily Mail reported Monday that the foundation did “not have consent to share the communication.”
Last week, Ms Chandauka detailed Harry’s polo fundraiser on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, revealing that it “went badly.”
In addition to a last-minute switch-up of the venue, the charity’s chief claimed that Markle caused a major disruption.
“The duchess decided to attend, but she told us she wasn’t attending, and she brought a friend, a very famous friend (Serena Williams),” she claimed last week.
This was why “the choreography went badly on stage,” Chandauka noted over the weekend, referencing the since-viral video of Markle repeatedly asking her to move.
She has since called the Sussex brand “toxic,” and accused Harry of “harassment and bullying at scale.”
BELOVED BRITISH TRADITION CELEBRATED BY MEGHAN
She might not be British born, but that hasn’t stopped the Duchess of Sussex from adopting the beloved British tradition of Mothering Sunday.
Meghan Markle shared a sweet post to Instagram to show she and her California-based family still embraced the occasion Prince Harry would have celebrated with his own mum Princess Diana in England.
“Our family tradition. Mothering Sunday in the UK,” Meghan wrote, accompanied by a photo of a glorious lemon tart which she was clutching with the assistance of an adorable little hand, presumably belonging to three-year-old Princess Lilibet.
Like Australia, America celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May.
KATE’S ODE TO ‘MOTHER NATURE’
Meghan’s post came after Princess Catherine celebrated Mother’s Day in the UK by sharing a post of her own about Mother Nature one year after her photo editing controversy.
The Princess of Wales took to Instagram to share a clip highlighting Mother Nature, including snippets of herself touching a tree and walking barefoot through a field.
“Over the past year, nature has been our sanctuary,” she captioned the post.
“This Mother’s Day, let us celebrate Mother Nature and recognise how our bond with the natural world can help not only nurture our inner selves, but remind us too of the role we play within the rich tapestry of life. C.”
Catherine, 43, didn’t include her and Prince Williams’ three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, in the tribute post.
Last year, the royal’s Mother’s Day post stirred up controversy after she shared a sweet family photo with her three kids.
At the time, she had spoken out for the first time since undergoing abdominal surgery in January 2024 and amid conspiracy theories around her whereabouts.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” Catherine captioned the photo last year.
“Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”
Within a few hours, photo agencies gave the snap a “kill notice” and flagged that it had been altered after noticing a part of Charlotte’s arm was missing.
“The same altered photo was reviewed in another post by fact-checkers,” an Instagram notice read.
“There may be small differences. Independent fact-checkers say the photo or image has been edited in a way that could mislead people, but not because it was shown out of context.”
The Princess of Wales, however, immediately spoke out, admitting that she was the one behind the Photoshop failure.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” she wrote on X at the time.
“I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
That same month, Catherine revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer and had been secretly undergoing treatment.
In January 2025, the royal shared she was in remission after slowly returning to the spotlight.
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