We haven’t heard much about the Sentebale situation in a few months. I keep hoping we’ll hear a good update, maybe something about Sophie Chandauka stepping down or the Charity Commission calling out her looting of Sentebale funds. But none of that has happened yet. Instead, the Daily Mail dusted off the controversy while simultaneously dusting off the “Prince Harry is Meghan’s spare” talking point. They’re really trying to make that stick, and it’s never made any sense to me. Anyway, the part I enjoy most about this DM piece is that after Dick Fitzwilliams dutifully recites his talking points about Harry being Meghan’s bored spare, the Mail details just a fraction of what Harry is actually involved with.
Now Prince Harry finds himself no longer part of the charity he spent nearly 20 years building after he dramatically parted ways with Sentebale. The charity’s chair Dr Sophie Chandauka made several damaging claims against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, calling their brand ‘toxic’ and accusing Harry of ‘harassment and bullying at scale’ – a claim that is denied. This followed claims that Meghan Markle disrupted the Sentebale charity polo match in Spring last year when she turned up at short notice alongside tennis legend Serena Williams. The duchess had originally said she would not be attending.
Speaking to MailOnline, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said that Harry’s struggles to carve out a career for himself, coupled with Meghan’s own ‘ruthless’ ambitions, have meant the prince has found himself ‘the spare’ in their relationship.
‘Harry is increasingly finding himself as the spare in a relationship with Meghan which undoubtedly involves mutual affection, but where their priorities differ widely.’
He said that Harry’s comfort zone is his charity work, and this is the direction in which he naturally finds himself leaning.
‘Invictus means a lot to him, it was a joy to see him at the WellChild Awards last year. He genuinely enjoyed being with the children, it seemed as though the “old Harry” was temporarily back,’ he said. However, he cautioned that the duke has made a ‘large number of mistakes’. These include his ‘angry and resentful half-hour interview with the BBC after he lost his court case over security and his ill-judged memoir Spare’.
Richard added: ‘However, though often emotional, he lacks Meghan’s ruthlessness, which was so apparent in the Oprah interview.’
Although The Mail On Sunday revealed in May that Prince Harry is planning to launch his own as-yet-undisclosed commercial venture in the next few months, he remains focused on his charity work. Harry is still involved heavily with the Invictus Games and the foundation that supports the tournament as well as the HALO Trust – a charity working to remove landmines, which Princess Diana was supportive of. The Duke of Sussex also launched more new projects in recent years including an eco-travel campaign through his non-profit Travalyst, aimed at encouraging sustainable travel.
The royalist argument is basically: the Sussex marriage is in a bad state because ruthless Meghan is growing her business while Harry is more focused on charity, he must be so bored, but wait, he’s actually got a lot on his plate, but still, MEGHAN’S SPARE! They didn’t even scratch the surface of Harry’s work either – Invictus, HALO Trust, Travalyst, BetterUp, Archewell, African Parks, Scotty’s Little Soldiers, WellChild, and whatever new business venture he’s got cooking. Anyway, do you think they’re making a point of mentioning Sentebale in advance of some big update? I actually hope there’s some news soon.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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