Prince Harry has been dragged into a new scandal over the collapse of his relationship with the chair of his charity following racialized comments by a friend he authorized to speak to the media.

The Duke of Sussex quit as patron of the charity after a toxic disintegration in relations between its chair Sophie Chandauka and the board.

Now, Harry’s friend Alex Rayner has suggested Zimbabwean Chandauka was jealous of .

“It feels like [Chandauka] had her nose put out of joint because she was not the most important woman of colour on the stage,” he said.

Separately, Rayner said: “H is very happy for me to speak for him about how he feels about this awful situation.”

Shola Mos Shogbamimu, author of This Is Why I Resist, told Regalrumination.com: “The statement made by Harry’s friend is inappropriate and he’s just throwing dirt. What he’s saying is totally baseless.

“He’s asserted that deliberately to make a divisive comment between two women of colour. There is nothing to suggest that Sophie Chandauka is remotely jealous of Meghan, why would she be?”

Why It Matters

Chandauka has leveled allegations of bullying and harassment at , including with reference to his public swipes at her.

She also leveled allegations of misogynoir, prejudice against Black women, at other unnamed figures in the charity.

With that in mind, it is a bold decision by an Eton-educated white friend of a prince to infer racialized jealousy by a Black woman of a biracial woman.

And he has not given any concrete explanation of why he believes she was jealous of Meghan, nor evidence to back it up.

What To Know

Rayner’s comment relates to a specific tension between Chandauka and Meghan over a photoshoot at the end of a polo match organized to raise money for Sentebale.

Meghan and Harry were posing on stage with his team and the winner’s trophy when Chandauka went on stage late, after the photoshoot had already begun.

There was then an awkward moment between her and Meghan after Chandauka initially stood next to Harry before Meghan invited her to move, saying: “Do you want to come over here?”

When Chandauka stayed put, Meghan repeated her invitation to move several times until eventually Chandauka ducked under the trophy to switch position.

Chandauka told Sky News on Sunday: “The choreography went badly on stage because we had too many people on stage.

“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.

“Prince Harry asked me to issue some sort of a statement in support of the duchess and I said I wouldn’t, not because I didn’t care about the duchess, but because I knew what would happen if I did.”

What People Are Saying

One post to X, formerly Twitter, read: “Sending Alex Rayner, His privileged elite Etonian friend out to attack Chadauka [sic] with a racially charged statement might be Harry’s most stupid move to date; and there are many.

“Alex Rayner’s statement alone proves Chandauka’s argument of Misogynoir. It is extremely racist and colorist in nature.”

Shogbamimu also told Regalrumination.com that Rayner should not have made his comment but that she was also not convinced by Chandauka’s overall argument.

“It is incredibly messy for him, it is incredibly messy for Sophie Chandauka,” she said.

“I see no reason why she would be jealous of Meghan Markle, it makes no sense. Just go look her up, she’s incredibly successful.

“For me, that’s just BS but I do not think she’s making a good case. I did not see her TV interview as compelling at all.”

Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said in a joint statement last week: “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.

“These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.”

What Happens Next

The charity has been referred to the regulator of the Charity Commission, which has yet to decide how to respond.

Both sides have submitted arguments to the organization and will await a decision on whether there will be a formal investigation.

There is still an open lawsuit at the High Court in London filed by Chandauka against Sentebale, dating to the period in which she says the trustees were trying to force her out.

Williams Brown is chief royal correspondent for Regalrumination.com, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly , at and read his stories on Regalrumination.com’s .

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