Prince Harry feels ‘as if he has had one of his fingers cut off’ after Sentebale charity debacle

A source close to Prince Harry has revealed how he is dealing with the fallout after resigning as a trustee from Sentebale, the HIV and AIDS charity he founded 20 years ago.

In case you missed it, the Duke of Sussex last week issued a statement saying he was “in shock” and “truly heartbroken” to be departing Sentebale, in the midst of a dispute with its chair, Sophie Chandauka. For her part, Chandauka hit back with a statement of her own, alleging that Harry and other Sentebale trustees had unsuccessfully tried to oust her because she “dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment [and] misogyny.”

Dr Sophie Chandauka I applause you for having the courage to do what you have done.

BBC have reported that Harry has stepped down from his position at Sentebale.

Thank you and I hope he is held accountable for his appalling behaviour. He is not a victim at all. pic.twitter.com/uONDy21JoK

— Allexmarie (@AllexmarieHoll1) March 26, 2025

Now, in the aftermath, Alex Rayner — a longtime friend of the Duke and fellow Etonian alum — has lifted the lid of Harry’s response to the debacle, which has continued to play out in the media. Rayner, who travelled to the North Pole with Harry in 2021 and was said to have been in contact with him over the weekend, told Daily Mail that his friend is “shocked” by the accusations made against him and “grief-stricken” by the way the saga has unfolded. 

Rayner said Harry is “very happy for me to speak for him” about his response to the situation, adding that the Duke is “beyond heartbroken and flabbergasted that the charity he founded as a teenager has been taken hostage by the chair.” Harry founded Sentebale back in 2006 in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana, who played a pivotal role in destigmatizing HIV and AIDS as part of her philanthropic efforts. 

“It feels tantamount to a hostile takeover,” Rayner said of Chandauka’s allegations, adding that Harry is “hurt and wounded” by the chair’s public statement. Rayner went on to claim that Harry is still unsure whether he will fight to reclaim control of the charity, but compared his resignation to “ha[ving] one of his fingers cut off.” 

The source then reiterated Sentebale being founded at a time when “the death of his mum was a fresh memory,” before sensationally claiming that Chandauka’s issues might stem from jealousy of Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle. The source of that jealousy apparently dates back to last April, when the Duchess reportedly asked Chandauka to move away from her and Harry while posing for stage photos at a polo match in Miami. 

Harry and Meghan treated Dr Sophie Chandauka, the Chair of Sentebale like a servant and a child. Well, the lioness from Zimbabwe just bit back. pic.twitter.com/0b1PhPtcoK

— Prince & Princess of Wales (@TribesBritannia) March 26, 2025

Of that incident, which spawned viral footage of the awkward exchange between Meghan and Chandauka, Rayner said “it feels like [Chandauka] had her nose put out of joint because she was not the most important woman of colour on the stage.” Apparently, in the aftermath, Harry asked Chandauka to release a statement clarifying there was no bad blood between the pair, which she refused to do. “There is an undercurrent of stink here because Meghan showed up [at the polo event],” Rayner said. 

While Harry’s friend claimed the downfall in Sentebale’s administration came at the hands of Chandauka, the chair herself contends that it was the result of the rupture between Prince Harry and the Royal Family. “The number one risk for this organisation was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand,” she told the Financial Times. Harry has yet to comment publicly on the fiasco beyond his resignation statement, but this is a story that will continue to unfold.