Meghan Markle Accused Of ‘Disrupting’ Charity Polo Game

Prince Harry‘s Sentebale charity chairwoman, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, alleged that Meghan Markle‘s 2024 charity event appearance caused “disruptions.”

She also claimed in a new interview that the Duke of Sussex pressured her to issue a statement in support of the duchess, which she refused.

This comes after she accused Prince Harry of covering up bullying allegations at their charity shortly after the royal stepped down from his role at the organization.

In a revealing new interview, Dr. Chandauka reflected on a 2024 charity event where Meghan’s appearance alongside Serena Williams caused a stir and led to logistical challenges on stage.

According to Dr. Chandauka, Meghan had initially confirmed she would not be attending the Royal Salute Paolo Challenge in Florida. However, she is said to have arrived unannounced with the tennis star, leading to last-minute disruptions.

During the event, Meghan allegedly made suggestions about the stage arrangement, twice requesting Dr. Chandauka to move away from Prince Harry’s side. This led to an awkward reshuffling of attendees, with Dr. Chandauka having to reposition herself around the trophy.

Speaking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips, Dr. Chandauka noted that the unplanned appearance created coordination issues.

“We would have been really excited had we known ahead of time [Meghan was coming], but we didn’t,” she explained. “And so the choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage.”

The event drew media scrutiny, with reports focusing on Meghan’s presence and interactions on stage.

Dr. Chandauka further revealed that Harry later requested she release a public statement supporting Meghan, but she declined.

“Not because I didn’t care about the Duchess,” she clarified. “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.”

This comes as Harry announced his departure from Sentebale, the charity he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, following internal conflicts within the organization.

Several trustees also resigned alongside him as tensions within the charity’s leadership escalated.

Beyond Meghan’s appearance at the charity event, Dr. Chandauka, who has served as Sentebale’s chair since 2023, accused Harry of being involved in what she described as a “cover-up” regarding an internal investigation into allegations of bullying, harassment, and misogyny within the organization.

She further claimed that the “toxicity” surrounding his public image had negatively affected the charity’s operations.

However, a source close to the former trustees dismissed Dr. Chandauka’s allegations as “completely baseless.”

According to the Daily Mail, the source denied claims that she had been bullied or harassed by Harry or that she had been subjected to coordinated efforts to undermine her.

Dr. Chandauka also alleged that Harry’s insistence on bringing a Netflix camera crew to a planned charity polo event in Miami ultimately led to its cancellation.

According to Chandauka, about a month before the event, Harry contacted the Sentebale team, expressing his desire to include footage from the event in his Netflix series.

“Prince Harry called the team and said, ‘I’m doing a Netflix show, and I would love to bring a camera crew so that I can include some footage in this show,” she recalled.

However, she argued that the decision was made without consulting key stakeholders.

“And so the team called me and told me, ‘Oh, Prince Harry’s made this request, so we’re doing the thing. I said, you can’t be doing the things without seeking consent from the property owners, the sponsors, all the guests. Nobody signed up to being on a Netflix show,” Dr. Chandauka recalled.

She noted that negotiations with the venue quickly fell apart once the owners reclassified the event as a commercial endeavor.

“We come up with draft agreements and of course, the venue owner says this is now a commercial undertaking,” she continued. “So here are my terms. We couldn’t afford it. So now we lost the venue.”

In a striking message to Harry, Dr. Chandauka reportedly asserted Sentebale’s independence from him, stating: “The team is resolved that Sentebale will live on, with or without you.”

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams weighed in on the controversy surrounding Meghan’s surprise appearance at the polo game.

Fitzwilliams also commented on the wider implications of the Sentebale dispute, calling it a significant setback for Harry.

He said, “The ferocious feud that has split Sentebale, which Prince Harry co-founded in memory of his beloved mother, Princess Diana, will be a bitter blow to him, as he now has no link with a charity that he has been involved with since 2006, when he co-founded it.”

The royal expert further drew parallels between the allegations against Harry and previous accusations against Meghan, both of which have been strongly denied.

“Harry has been accused of ‘bullying and harassment.’ There are echoes here of the allegations against Meghan, which appeared in the Times before the infamous interview they gave on Oprah, which she strongly denied,” Fitzwilliams pointed out, per the Daily Mail.

He noted that the controversy has resurfaced in recent reports by top U.S. publications, which “will surely adversely affect the Sussexes image.”