'Wounded' Prince Harry given major warning over 'unwise step' after bitter row

Prince Harry has been left "wounded" over his bitter row with the chairwoman of an African charity he left back in March, but was warned over making any "unwise moves" in the future, it has been claimed. The Duke of Sussex was cleared of any allegations towards him in a bombshell Charity Commission report, which however criticised Harry and Sentebale for going public with the dispute.

Harry has been embroiled in a feud with Sentebale's chairwoman, Sophie Chandauka, which included various "claims and counter-claims of racism, bullying and mismanagement" and resulted in him leaving his post as patron in March. On Sunday, it emerged that the Duke may launch a new humanitarian charity to help children in Lesotho and Botswana after the latest row.

But a royal expert issued a dire warning after the latest updates and cautioned the Duke over making a "rival charity".

Royal commentator Jennie Bond told the Mirror: "I think Harry will feel very wounded by the way things have turned out, but he has said – and I believe him – that he will find a different way to help the children of Lesotho and Botswana.

"I think it would be rather unwise to set up a rival charity, but I’m sure he will find a way to help the cause and to raise funds."

The prince founded Sentebale in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, in 2006, with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, to help young people and children in southern Africa, particularly those living with HIV and Aids.

However, earlier this year, both princes stepped down after several trustees left the organisation following a dispute with Ms Chandauka and requesting her resignation.

Ms Chandauka had issued a statement in which she alleged there had been "poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir".

She appeared to criticise Harry for going to the press and for what she described as playing "the victim card". The chairwoman also claimed the duke had tried to "eject" her from the charity through "bullying" and "harassment".

But the Charity Commission, which cannot investigate individual allegations of bullying, stressed in its findings that it found no evidence of "widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity."

It also announced that it found no evidence of "'overreach' by either the chair or the Duke of Sussex as patron, but the Commission is critical of the charity’s lack of clarity in delegations to the chair, which allowed for misunderstandings to occur."

The Charity Commission made one complaint regarding the Sentebale row, saying that it should not have been made public and should have been resolved internally.

Ms Bond added: "Sentebale was a passion for Harry and one that was closely associated with his mother, who campaigned so hard to make the world understand more about AIDS and HIV.

"When you saw him with the children, he seemed so invested in helping them, so compassionate and so full of fun as he played games with them and made them feel their world was a better place."

"He has said himself that he is devastated by the way things have turned out. It was interesting that in his resignation from the charity earlier this year, he and his co-founder, Prince Seeiso, said their decision was 'until further notice'.

"Critically, the report cleared the Prince of the damaging allegations of bullying, misogyny, and misogynoir. But it was highly critical of the way Harry, and indeed Dr Chandauka, waged an angry war of words in public. Neither side has come out of this well, and both have had their wrists well and truly slapped by the commission."