PRINCE Harry is leading a pointless existence after his charity row saw him quit the organisation and ruin his reputation, a royal expert has said.
has also been living in his wife shadow, following and recent soft rebrand, royal biographer Hugo Vickers claimed.
Harry found himself with Sophie Chandauka, the boss of his African charity Sentebale, which alongside his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.
The princes cited the chair's “untenable” leadership, to which Chaundauka released a scathing response, .
It has now also been claimed by the brother of Prince Seeiso, Chief Khoabane Theko, that Harry in 2018 and subsequently two years later.
In response to whether the claims of Harry's loss of love for Sentebale would impact his reputation, Vickers told Flying Eze: “It is [damaging].
“It's most unfortunate, the whole thing, really – he was trained to do exactly that sort of work and does it very well.
“And the fact that he's sort of isolated from it just means that he's leading a rather pointless existence.”
The Duke of Sussex, 40, had set theup in 2006 in memory of his mum,, along with his pal Prince Seeiso.
But it was said his lack of love for the organisation, fuelled by his move to the US, “killed the spirit” of the charity.
Vickers added that Harry had begun to be seen as a “liability” at the charity, due to , and that he had begun to live in her shadow.
He said: “He's probably something of a liability because even if he does go over there and do something, the questions are always going to be ‘what's Meghan up to?'”
Chief Theko said Harry began to visit Lesotho less, following his marriage, and at one point took a six year gap.
He said he was “perturbed” the Duke and Duchess would take holidays in Africa but not visit Lesotho.
Harry had visited more frequently in the past, making four trips between June 2010 and the end of 2015, but was the first in six years.
Chief Theko was, however, not aware that the Duke of Sussex had visited Lesotho twice since his marriage.
The Sussexes have focused on since moving there, with Meghan having a soft relaunch with and this year.
However, Vickers believes this “commercialisation” of the couple has made it difficult for them to keep their reputation intact.
He explained: “It's such a pity that they couldn't have worked within the system and done a lot of good for others.
“I think in the long run, we would have respected them a great deal more and more good would have come out of it.
“But when they take this different route, it's going into the unknown – and it's proved obviously to be very difficult because they need an expensive lifestyle.”
Vickers added this was just “another thing which has gone wrong” for the couple in recent years, and indicated their focus appeared to be on , rather than on other charitable activities.
He continued: “They keep trying to do new things and they don't always succeed.
“But, you know, maybe she'll make a fortune out of selling all her products and things.
“She has a lot of followers, and that's a different world – the world of people following people and buying all their products and things – that's a whole new game.
“So maybe that works for them but it seems rather pointless to me.”
SENTEBALE ROW ‘HURTS' HARRY'S REPUTATION
Prince Harry found himself at the centre of a row with Sentebale which erupted in March after Dr Chandauka accused the charity's board of harassment, bullying, and misogynoir.
Harry and Seeiso had previously revealed they sided with their charity's furious trustees, who .
The charity's boss then released an explosive statement in which she slammed “unthinkable” infighting in the organisation as well as made claims that there had been a “cover-up”.
Chandauka, a -born lawyer, was selected to be chair of the trustees last year.
However, it is understood the trustees strongly opposed this move and had wanted her to step down – a move which has seen her sue.
The bitter feud appeared to be triggered by the move to transfer the charity's operation to Africa, which caused several key figures to quit the organisation.
In a statement given to the Mail, Chandauka alleged there had been “weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir”.
Misogynoir is the term used to describe discrimination against black women.
Princes Harry and Seeiso had said it was “devastating” to leave the charity, but .
They said this had forced them to consider the “unthinkable” decision of resigning.
In response, Chandauka appeared to suggest Harry and Seeiso were using the charity as a “vanity project”, saying she would not be “intimidated” by them.
The board chair also slammed “people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people…then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain”.
She told Flying Eze she had acted with integrity as a “proud African” and that she “stand[s] for those other women who do not have the ways and means”.
A Sentebale spokesman said: “This is a particularly difficult time to have joined the organisation, given the unexpected sustained and intrusive media attention.
“She has chosen to step down out of respect for her family and other professional commitments, which we fully understand, respect and support. We deeply appreciate her interest in Sentebale over a long period of time and look forward to staying in touch.”;
In a joint resignation statement, princes Harry and Seeiso said: “With heavyhearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same.
“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.”
They added: “What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about.”
The Charity Commission has also confirmed that an investigation is underway into the charity, which was set up to support those living with in Africa.
A spokesperson told Flying Eze: “We can confirm that we are aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale.
“We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatorysteps.”
The Sussexes were approached for comment by Flying Eze.
