Prince Harry is leading pointless existence – charity row’s ruined his reputation & Meghan overshadows him, expert says
PRINCE Harry is leading a pointless existence after his charity row saw him quit the organisation and ruin his reputation, a royal expert has said.
The Duke of Sussex has also been living in his wife Meghan Markle’s shadow, following their move to Montecito in California and recent soft rebrand, royal biographer Hugo Vickers claimed.
Harry found himself at the centre of a row last month with Sophie Chandauka, the boss of his African charity Sentebale, which he then sensationally quit alongside his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.
The princes cited the chair’s “untenable” leadership, to which Chaundauka released a scathing response, accusing the board of harassment, bullying, and misogynoir.
It has now also been claimed by the brother of Prince Seeiso, Chief Khoabane Theko, that Harry lost interest in the organisation after marrying Meghan Markle in 2018 and subsequently moving to the US two years later.
In response to whether the claims of Harry’s loss of love for Sentebale would impact his reputation, Vickers told The Sun: “It is [damaging].
“It’s most unfortunate, the whole thing, really – he was trained to do exactly that sort of work and does it very well.
“And the fact that he’s sort of isolated from it just means that he’s leading a rather pointless existence.”
The Duke of Sussex, 40, had set the African charity up in 2006 in memory of his mum, Princess Diana, along with his pal Prince Seeiso.
But it was said his lack of love for the organisation, fuelled by his move to the US, “killed the spirit” of the charity.
Vickers added that Harry had begun to be seen as a “liability” at the charity, due to his marriage to Meghan, and that he had begun to live in her shadow.
He said: “He’s probably something of a liability because even if he does go over there and do something, the questions are always going to be ‘what’s Meghan up to?'”
Chief Theko said Harry began to visit Lesotho less, following his marriage, and at one point took a six year gap.
He said he was “perturbed” the Duke and Duchess would take holidays in Africa but not visit Lesotho.
Harry had visited more frequently in the past, making four trips between June 2010 and the end of 2015, but his journey there in October 2024 was the first in six years.
Chief Theko was, however, not aware that the Duke of Sussex had visited Lesotho twice since his marriage.
Prince Harry ‘lost interest’ in Sentebale after marrying Meghan & ‘killed charity’s spirit’, claims co-founder’s brother
PRINCE Harry lost interest in his African charity Sentebale after marrying Meghan Markle and moving to the US, it has been claimed.
The Duke of Sussex’s lack of love for the organisation “killed the spirit” of the charity, following his marriage in 2018 and international move two years later.
Prince Harry and his charity co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho sensationally quit the charity last month after siding with furious trustees against board chair Sophie Chandauka, claiming her leadership was “untenable”.
Now, shocking new claims over Harry’s loss of interest have been made by Prince Seeiso’s brother, Chief Khoabane Theko.
He told The Telegraph: “When [Sentebale] was launched, I remember his words quite vividly, because he was very strong in saying ‘my mother, this place, her passion about Africa’ and all that.
“He’s a loved figure because of his openness, but his loss of interest has totally killed the spirit of the Sentebale’s survival.”
The Duke of Sussex, 40, had set the African charity up in 2006 in memory of his mum, Princess Diana, along with his pal Prince Seeiso.
Chief Theko also said he was “perturbed” that the Duke and Duchess would take holidays in Africa but not visit Lesotho.
The Sussexes have focused on their new life in Montecito, California, since moving there, with Meghan having a soft relaunch with a new TV show and lifestyle brand this year.
However, Vickers believes this “commercialisation” of the couple has made it difficult for them to keep their reputation intact.
He explained: “It’s such a pity that they couldn’t have worked within the system and done a lot of good for others.
“I think in the long run, we would have respected them a great deal more and more good would have come out of it.
“But when they take this different route, it’s going into the unknown – and it’s proved obviously to be very difficult because they need an expensive lifestyle.”
Vickers added this was just “another thing which has gone wrong” for the couple in recent years, and indicated their focus appeared to be on “pointless” financial gain, rather than on other charitable activities.
He continued: “They keep trying to do new things and they don’t always succeed.
“But, you know, maybe she’ll make a fortune out of selling all her products and things.
“She has a lot of followers, and that’s a different world – the world of people following people and buying all their products and things – that’s a whole new game.
“So maybe that works for them but it seems rather pointless to me.”
SENTEBALE ROW ‘HURTS’ HARRY’S REPUTATION
Prince Harry found himself at the centre of a row with Sentebale which erupted in March after Dr Chandauka accused the charity’s board of harassment, bullying, and misogynoir.
Harry and Seeiso had previously revealed they sided with their charity’s furious trustees, who unanimously resigned following disagreements with the board’s chair.
The charity’s boss then released an explosive statement in which she slammed “unthinkable” infighting in the organisation as well as made claims that there had been a “cover-up”.
Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, was selected to be chair of the trustees last year.
However, it is understood the trustees strongly opposed this move and had wanted her to step down – a move which has seen her sue.
The bitter feud appeared to be triggered by the move to transfer the charity’s fundraising operation to Africa, which caused several key figures to quit the organisation.
In a statement given to the Mail, Chandauka alleged there had been “weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir”.
Misogynoir is the term used to describe discrimination against black women.
Princes Harry and Seeiso had said it was “devastating” to leave the charity, but slammed Chandauka for her “untenable” leadership.
They said this had forced them to consider the “unthinkable” decision of resigning.
In response, Chandauka appeared to suggest Harry and Seeiso were using the charity as a “vanity project”, saying she would not be “intimidated” by them.
The board chair also slammed “people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people…then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain”.
She told The Sun she had acted with integrity as a “proud African” and that she “stand[s] for those other women who do not have the ways and means”.
A Sentebale spokesman said: “This is a particularly difficult time to have joined the organisation, given the unexpected sustained and intrusive media attention.
“She has chosen to step down out of respect for her family and other professional commitments, which we fully understand, respect and support. We deeply appreciate her interest in Sentebale over a long period of time and look forward to staying in touch.”
In a joint resignation statement, princes Harry and Seeiso said: “With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same.
“It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation.”
They added: “What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about.”
The Charity Commission has also confirmed that an investigation is underway into the charity, which was set up to support those living with HIV and Aids in Africa.
A spokesperson told The Sun: “We can confirm that we are aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale.
“We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.”
The Sussexes were approached for comment by The Sun.