Meghan Markle ‘disrupted’ charity event with demands, says Sentebale charity boss

Meghan Markle caused chaos at a polo event after arriving with a famous friend, the charity boss at the centre of a feud with Prince Harry has claimed. See the video.

Meghan Markle caused “disruption” after turning up to a charity polo event at short notice and bringing tennis star Serena Williams, the chair of Prince Harry’s charity has claimed.

In a scathing interview with Sky News, Dr Sophie Chandauka slammed Prince Harry and Meghan as “toxic” after the royal’s shock resignation from Sentebale, which he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.

Meghan Markle watching the prize ceremony at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge to Benefit Sentebale in Florida in 2024. Picture: AP

The Zimbabwe-born lawyer said Meghan caused chaos with her behaviour after arriving with Williams at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Florida in April 2024.

In footage that went viral at the time, Meghan appeared to ask Dr Chandauka not to pose next to Harry as he celebrated his polo match win on stage.

Meghan Markle arrived with tennis legend Serena Williams at the polo event in Florida at the last minute, Sentebale boss Sophie Chandauka claims. Picture: AP

The charity chair, who was on the Duke’s right, was asked twice by Meghan to move to her left side away from Prince Harry, as he kept his arm around his wife, while others on the stage had to shuffle awkwardly around them to find a place.

Speaking to British broadcaster Trevor Phillips, Dr Chandauka said: “We would have been really excited had we known ahead of time (Meghan was coming), but we didn’t.

“And so the choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage.

‘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.

The awkward moment when Dr Sophie Chandauka had to shuffle around the stage after Meghan Markle asked her move away from Prince Harry.

Dana Barnes, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Adolfo Cambiaso and Malcolm Borwick pose after the Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Florida. Picture: Getty Images for Sentebale

“Prince Harry asked me to issue some sort of a statement in support of the Duchess, and 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.”

The two founding princes dramatically quit the charity last week, slamming Dr Chandauka’s leadership as “untenable”.

Sentebale Chair Sophie Chandauka has blasted Prince Harry. Picture: PA via AP

The lawyer has labelled the Sussex brand “toxic”. Picture: Getty Images

Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso described their decision to go as “devastating” but said that they had been forced to consider the “unthinkable”.

In an escalating war of words, Dr Chandauka has now claimed that Prince Harry’s reputation was the biggest danger to the organisation.

The Zimbabwe-born lawyer accused Harry and Seeiso of trying to “force a failure and then come to the rescue” of the charity.

She told the Financial Times: “The No 1 risk for this organisation was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand.”

Prince Harry bakes at the Kananelo Centre in Maseru for the Deaf during a visit by Sentebale in 2013. Picture: AFP

However, Dr Chandauka has been accused of manipulating the minutes of board meetings and bullying staff, sources close to the charity have told The Times.

In her Sky News interview, Dr Chandauka also accused Harry of “harassment and bullying at scale”.

“The only reason I’m here … is because at some point on Tuesday, Prince Harry authorised the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world without informing me or my country directors, or my executive director,” she told Trevor Phillips.

“And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organisations and their family?

“That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”

Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho last October. Picture: Getty Images for Sentebale

A source close to the former trustees of the Sentebale charity has described Dr Chandauka’s allegations as “completely baseless”.

In a statement last week, seemingly targeted at Prince Harry, Dr Chandauka said: “There are people in this world 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.

The princes founded the charity together in 2006. Picture: AFP

“Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to the press 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, misogyny – and the cover-up that ensued.”

Sentebale was established in 2006 to help children and young people in southern Africa, particularly those with HIV and AIDS.

Prince Harry was inspired to start the charity after spending a life-changing -changing two months in Lesotho, when he was on a gap year in 2004.

He named the charity Sentebale, which means “forget me not” in Sesotho, the official language of Lesotho, as a tribute to his late mother Diana, whose favourite flower was the forget-me-not and who was one of the early pioneers to destigmatise HIV/AIDS.

Originally published as Meghan Markle ‘disrupted’ charity event with demands, says Sentebale charity boss