The chairwoman of a charity set up by Britain's Prince Harry has accused him of trying to “drive her out” through “bullying” and “harassment”.
On Tuesday, Harry said he and several other trustees had left Sentebale, which he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, amid a row over a seat on the organisation's board.
Sophie Chandauka, who will serve as chair of Sentebale from 2023, has accused the British royal family of being “complicit” in a “cover-up” of an investigation into bullying, harassment and misogyny at the organisation, saying the “toxicity” of its “brand” had had a negative impact on the charity.
A source close to former trustees and funders of Sentebale described Ms Chandauki's comments as a “publicity stunt”.
In an interview with Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Ms Chandauka said: “The reality is that Prince Harry has been intent on excluding me from the organisation for months.
“This went on for months, with intimidation and harassment. I have the documentation to that effect.
“I've had messages from management and external strategic advisers in boardrooms saying, 'Can I interrupt you? Should I stop this? Oh my God, this is so awful.'”
“Our strategic fundraising consultant eventually sent me a message saying she no longer wanted to attend board meetings or bring her colleagues because of this treatment.
“When that didn't work, Prince Harry and his team, the sponsors I was involved with, started to turn against me and the charity itself, as it was a surefire way to get rid of me if it became clear that my fundraising efforts were not successful.”
Asked about rumours that trustees had lost confidence in her leadership and whether she was the “problem” rather than Harry, Dr Chandauka said: “The problem was that I made a complaint about bullying, harassment and misogyny and Prince Harry intervened in the investigation into it.
“The senior independent director who was supposed to be doing this turned out to be the same person who then informed me that the board was going to remove me.
“So it's a cover-up and the prince is also involved.”
Ms Chandauka also criticised the way Prince Harry left, saying his decision to go public with the news before notifying her amounted to “massive harassment and bullying”.
She said: “The only reason I am here is because at some point on Tuesday Prince Harry allowed damaging news to be released to the outside world without telling me, my country directors or my chief executive.
“And can you imagine how this attack affected me, me and the 540 employees of Sentebale organizations and their families?
“This is an example of widespread harassment and bullying.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
