Prince Harry allegedly asked Dr. Sophie Chandauka, the chair of his Sentebale charity, to give a public message of support for his wife, Meghan Markle, after their polo fundraiser “went badly.”
In a new interview on Sky News’ “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips,” Dr. Chandauka recalled the obstacles she faced while planning the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, which was held in Miami in April 2024.
The Zimbabwean corporate finance lawyer claimed the charity lost its initial venue because the Duke of Sussex wanted to bring the Netflix camera crew to the polo event.
“We had a very generous family that was happy for us to use their polo grounds at a material discount,” she said.
“And then about a month before the event was about to take place, 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 shoot some footage in this show.’”
Dr. Chandauka said the team called her and said they were going to accommodate Harry’s request, however, she told them they needed to seek consent from the people who owned the polo grounds as well as sponsors and guests.
Due to the inclusion of Netflix, the venue owners increased the price of their polo grounds because it had become a commercial venture.
Though Sentebale was forced to pull out of the venue because it could not afford the increased fee, Dr. Chandauka said they were “lucky enough” to find another location.
When the day of the charity event arrived, Dr. Chandauka, 47, said they faced more issues when Markle, 43, made a last-minute appearance with her BFF Serena Williams.
“The duchess decided to attend, but she told us she wasn’t attending, and she brought a friend, a very famous friend,” she told Sky News.
“We would have been really excited had we known ahead of time, but we didn’t. And so, the choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage,” she claimed.
A viral video of Markle repeatedly asking Dr. Chandauka to move to her left side away from Harry, 40, surfaced from the event, sparking backlash for the “Suits” alum.
“The international press captured this, and there was a lot of talk about the duchess and the choreography on stage and whether she should have been there and her treatment of me,” she recalled.
Due to the media frenzy surrounding Markle’s act, Harry asked Dr. Chandauka to issue a public statement in support of his wife.
“I said I wouldn’t. Not because I didn’t care about the duchess, but because I knew what would happen if I did so, number one,” the former global COO of Morgan Stanley said.
“And number two, because we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes.”
A source close to the former trustees of the Sentebale charity told Sky News that Dr. Chandauka’s account of the polo match was “highly misleading.”
Page Six has reached out to a rep for Markle and Harry but did not immediately hear back.
Earlier this week, Harry announced that he was quitting the Sentebale charity that he and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho founded in 2006.
Dr. Chandauka claimed “misogynoir” was to blame for why the “Spare” author and board of trustees resigned.
She also accused Harry of launching a “damaging” attack that led to her allegedly being harassed and bullied.
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