Prince Harry has faced a dramatic week with the war of words in the row over his Sentebale charity intensifying while wife Meghan Markle launched her eagerly-awaited brand As Ever. Royal expert Tessa Dunlop says the dispute will likely be a painful reminder
Prince Harry has undoubtedly endured a week he would definitely like to forget. After dramatically quitting as patron of Sentebale, the charity he founded in honour of Princess Diana, he’s become embroiled in a bitter war of words with its chairwoman Sophie Chandauka.
The row has seen the charity chief level accusations of bullying and harassment, while those close to the former trustees and patrons of Sentebale dismiss her comments as a “publicity stunt”. Harry has now finally spoken out on the battle describing the past week’s events as “heartbreaking to witness”. He also said he was relieved that the Charity Commission has opened a case into the charity he founded, hitting out at “blatant lies”.
The extraordinary events come as Harry’s wife Meghan has embarked on a publicity blitz for the launch of her lifestyle brand As Ever. When the first batch of products, including a £10 jar of jam in a keepsake box, went on sale, they were snapped up in just 30 minutes.
And according to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, this only added to Harry’s predicament. She told the Mirror: ” Prince Harry is having a hell of a time: his truth is now intimately bound up with the Charity Commission’s investigation into Sentebale, one he hopes with ‘unveil the truth’.
“In the meantime, the war of words continues between the Prince and Sentebale’s chairperson Dr Sophie Chandauka, who is pursuing Harry as the ‘number one risk to the charity’ he established. The unseemly scrap, which has seen Harry’s complaints of ‘abuse and harassment’ weaponised against him and the organisation he holds dear, imploded at the same time as Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, apparently sold out of produce.
“Nonetheless, as we increasingly retreat into separate echo chambers, Harry is occupying a very different online stratosphere from his wife. While the duchess pedals a ‘perfect’ world, Harry is making a fist of failing hard – ‘imperfect’ is to understate his current predicament.”
However, it is not just the charity probe and the bitter boardroom battle that has hit Harry recently. Reports have also suggested he only found out that his estranged father King Charles had a short stay in hospital last week due to side effects of his cancer treatment on the news, like everybody else.
There have also been suggestions he is no longer close to his royal cousin Princess Eugenie – and next week his case to have his taxpayer-funded police protection reinstated when he comes to the UK is being heard by the Court of Appeal.
Tessa added: “If Meghan’s flower-sprinkle biscuits and beige ensembles are insufficient support for Montecito’s lonely prince, he is unlikely to find reassurance among his erstwhile family back in Britain.
“By all accounts, the King’s brief health relapse was not relayed to Harry – he found out about his father’s hospital visit through the press. Even long-suffering Eugenie is said to be fed up with cousin Harry. A reset is what is needed. Meghan’s As Ever brand urgently needs to branch out beyond raspberry jam and crepe mix to something a little stronger.”
