Claims of Prince Harry having 'raging late-night calls' over Sentebale charity denied
It comes after a charity regulator revealed its findings of an investigation into the charityA UK charity regulator recently found “no evidence” of “bullying or harassment” at Sentebale, a charity co-founded by Prince Harry.
The charity has been at the centre of the allegations for some months after an alleged boardroom dispute between the charity’s chair, Sophie Chandauka, and trustees. It led to Prince Harry and several trustees resigning earlier this year.
Following the Charity Commission’s findings after an investigation into the allegations, new claims emerged alleging Harry, 40, has spent “hours on the phone, raging about a ‘hostile takeover’ of his ‘life’s work'”.
However, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex has since spoken out.
Prince Harry accused of ‘spending hours raging about hostile takeover’ of Sentebale charity
The Daily Mail‘s Royal Editor Rebecca English claimed that she had been told that Harry “is ‘utterly devastated’, spending hours on the phone from California to supporters late into the night raging about a ‘hostile takeover’ of his ‘life’s work'”.
But a spokesperson for Harry confirmed to Royal Insider that there are “absolutely no ‘raging late night calls'”, branding the claims “fabrication”.
It comes after the Charity Commission confirmed its findings on the bullying allegations this week.
Earlier this year, Harry and his Sentebale co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, stepped down as patrons of the charity they founded in 2006.
What was the Sentebale dispute about?
According to reports, a dispute arose regarding fundraising.
Sentebale is a charity that works with children and young people in Southern Africa. It helps them come to terms with their HIV and AIDS diagnosis.
The board of the charity asked Chandauka to resign as chair, and when she refused, the other trustees stepped down, including Harry and Prince Seeiso. She then reportedly sued the charity.
Chandauka later spoke out, calling Harry’s brand “toxic”. She also accused the duke of “harassment and bullying at scale”.
She also reported the trustees to the Charity Commission, the UK’s charity regulator.
Charity Commission criticises ‘all parties’ in row
This week, the Charity Commission announced its findings following its investigation.
It said it found no evidence of “widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity”.
The regulator also “criticised all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly, and further concluded that the then trustees’ failure to resolve disputes internally severely impacted the charity’s reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally”.
We are emerging not just grateful to have survived, but stronger.
It also gave the charity an action plan to help manage “governance weaknesses”.
Following the findings, a spokesperson for Harry said that the report “falls troublingly short”, primarily “the fact that the consequences of the current Chair’s actions will not be borne by her – but by the children who rely on Sentebale’s support”.
They added that Harry “will now focus on finding new ways to continue supporting the children of Lesotho and Botswana”.
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Meanwhile, Chandauka said in part of her statement: “We are emerging not just grateful to have survived, but stronger. More focused, better governed, boldly ambitious, and with our dignity intact.”
She will remain as the charity’s chair, a role she took on in 2023.
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