Chair of African charity Prince Harry co-founded says the royal orchestrated a bullying campaign

LONDON (AP) — The chairperson of an African charity co-founded by Prince Harry accused the royal on Sunday of orchestrating a bullying and harassment campaign to try to force her out as she pushed back following his abrupt resignation from the organization.

Sophie Chandauka, the Sentebale chair, took several shots at Harry on Sky News in which she described how the prince’s Netflix deal interfered with a scheduled fundraiser and how an incident with his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, became a source of friction.

The Duke of Sussex cited a breakdown in the relationship between board members and Chandauka when he resigned Tuesday as a patron of the charity he co-founded nearly 20 years ago in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana.

Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho said in a joint statement that they quit “with heavy hearts” as patrons in support of the trustees in their dispute with Chandauka.

“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,” the princes said. “In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.”

Chandauka said she reported Sentebale’s trustees to the Charity Commission in the U.K. and filed papers in a British court to prevent her removal.

She alleged there was misconduct at the charity without naming anyone or offering any details in a statement Tuesday. It said she had tried to blow the whistle on “abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny and misogynoir,” the latter word referring to a combination of racism and misogyny directed toward Black women.

Chandauka told Sky that Harry’s resignation had caught her blindsided and was “an example of harassment and bullying at scale.” She said he also had interfered with her whistleblower complaint.

“So it’s a cover-up, and the prince is involved," she said.

Chandauka said there was a significant drop in donors after Harry and Meghan left official royal duties in January 2020, and eventually settled in California.

The charity, whose name means “don’t forget me” in the Sesotho language of Lesotho and South Africa, was founded to help youths affected by AIDS in the small mountainous nation and in Botswana. But it is now moving to address youth health, wealth and climate resilience in southern Africa.

The biggest risk to the charity was the “toxicity of its lead patron’s brand," Chandauka told the Financial Times.

A person close to the charity's patrons and trustees and familiar with events countered Chandauka’s claims. The person, who requested anonymity because the allegations are under scrutiny by the Charity Commission, said Harry and Seeiso had sent a resignation letter to the chair on March 10 — two weeks before they went public with the news.

The person said the trustees and patrons were firm in their decision to leave and had collectively decided to resign with the expectation Chandauka would pull such a publicity stunt after their departure.

In the Sky interview, she said that a polo fundraiser scheduled in Miami last year almost fell apart when Harry asked to bring a camera crew along that was filming him for a Netflix series on the sport.

The cost of the venue skyrocketed when it became a commercial venture and they scrambled to find another host, which Harry arranged through his connections, she said.

Meghan's surprise appearance at the event led to an awkward moment during the trophy presentation after the match, Chandauka said.

In a video clip circulated on social media, Chandauka tried to pose next to the duke as he held the trophy in one hand and had his other wrapped around Meghan. But the duchess appeared to gesture that Chandauka move farther from Harry, forcing her to duck under the silver cup to get into the photo.

“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," Chandauka said.

She said she rejected Harry's request that she issue a statement in support of Meghan, because "we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes.”

FILE - This Dec. 4, 2024 file photo shows Sentebale Chair Sophie Chandauka during the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at the USPA National Polo Center in Wellington, Fla. (Yaroslav Sabitov/PA via AP)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry speaks during a high level event sponsored by Lesotho at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry speaks on stage during a concert hosted by his charity Sentebale to raise funds and awareness to support children and young people affected by HIV and AIDS in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi, at Hampton Court Palace, in London, Tuesday June 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, file)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry, left, accompanied by Prince Seeiso of Lesetho, meets pupils in a class during his visit to the Kananelo Centre for the Deaf outside Maseru, Lesotho, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday afternoon in a feat of endurance to show Democrats’ objections to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions.

Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” More than 19 hours later, the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, was plainly exhausted but still going. It was a remarkable show of stamina — among the longest in Senate history — as Democrats try to show their frustrated supporters that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump's agenda.

“These are not normal times in our nation," Booker said as he launched into his speech. “And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.”

Pacing, then at times leaning on his podium, Booker railed for hours against cuts to Social Security offices led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. He listed the impacts of Trump's early orders and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say the program won't be touched.

Booker also read what he said were letters from constituents, donning and doffing his reading glasses. One writer was alarmed by the Republican president's talk of annexing Greenland and Canada and a “looming constitutional crisis.”

“I hear you. I see you, and I’m standing here in part because of letters like yours,” Booker said.

As his speech rolled into Tuesday afternoon, Booker got help from Democratic colleagues, who gave him a break from speaking to ask him a question and praise his performance. Booker yielded for questions but made sure to say he would not give up the floor. He stayed standing to comply with Senate rules.

“Your strength, your fortitude, your clarity has just been nothing short of amazing and all of America is paying attention to what you’re saying,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said as he asked Booker a question on the Senate floor. “All of America needs to know there’s so many problems, the disastrous actions of this administration.”

As Booker stood for hour after hour, he appeared to have nothing more than a couple glasses of water to sustain him.

“I shall not complain,” Booker said with a laugh after one colleague asked how he was doing Tuesday afternoon.

Democratic aides watched from the chamber's gallery, and Sen. Chris Murphy accompanied Booker throughout his speech. Murphy was returning the comradeship that Booker had given to him in 2016 when the Connecticut Democrat held the floor for almost 15 hours to argue for gun control legislation.

The record for the longest individual speech belongs to Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, according to the Senate's records. As it rolled past 19 hours, Booker's speech marked the fifth longest in Senate history.

Only one other sitting senator has spoken for longer. In 2013, Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican of Texas, held the floor for 21 hours and 19 minutes to contest the Affordable Care Act.

Booker repeatedly invoked the civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia on Tuesday, arguing that overcoming opponents like Thurmond would require more than just talking.

“You think we got civil rights one day because Strom Thurmond — after filibustering for 24 hours — you think we got civil rights because he came to the floor one day and said, ‘I’ve seen the light,’” Booker said. ”No, we got civil rights because people marched for it, sweat for it and John Lewis bled for it."

Booker's speech was not a filibuster, which is a speech meant to halt the advance of a specific piece of legislation. Instead, Booker's performance was a broader critique of Trump's agenda, meant to hold up the Senate's business and draw attention to what Democrats are doing to contest the president. Without a majority in either congressional chamber, Democrats have been almost completely locked out of legislative power but are turning to procedural maneuvers to try to thwart Republicans.

Booker is serving his second term in the Senate. He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2020, when he launched his campaign from the steps of his home in Newark. He dropped out after struggling to gain a foothold in a packed field, falling short of a threshold to meet in a January 2020 debate.

But as Democrats search for a next generation of leadership, frustrated with the old-timers at the top, Booker's speech could cement his status as a leading figure in the party's opposition to Trump.

Even before taking to the national political stage, Booker was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party in New Jersey, serving as mayor of Newark, the state's largest city, from 2006 to 2013.

During college, he played tight end for Stanford University's football team. He became a Rhodes scholar and graduated from Yale Law before starting his career as an attorney for nonprofits.

He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013 during a special election held after the death of incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg. He won his first full term in 2014 and reelection in 2020.

Catalini reported from Trenton, N.J.

In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen, Cory Booker, D-N.J. speaks on the Senate floor, Tuesday morning, April 1, 2025. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen, Cory Booker, D-N.J. speaks on the Senate floor, Tuesday morning, April 1, 2025. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen, Cory Booker, D-N.J. speaks on the Senate floor, Tuesday morning, April 1, 2025. (Senate Television via AP)

FILE - Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.,, speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)