Meghan ignores Harry's 'bullying' charity controversy as Duchess announces launch of new range
31 March 2025, 20:28
The Duchess of Sussex has announced her new lifestyle products will be available 'this week' amid Prince Harry's charity spat.
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Meghan Markle's company As Ever will offer up jam, honey, herbal teas, cookies, cake mixes and "flower sprinkles" - as featured in her TV show With Love, Meghan.
"Ever since I can remember, I've been dreaming up easy ways to elevate the everyday into the exceptional," she wrote in her newspaper on Monday evening.
"I always knew that I wanted to turn these ideas into something real, and to make beautiful items that spark connection and celebrate quiet, meaningful moments."
She promised her brand would "mimic the image" of Meghan and Harry's Montecito mansion in California.
This comes as the head of a charity founded by Harry claimed that he tried to "eject" her during a campaign of "harassment", and even "demanded" she release a public statement defending Meghan.
Harry and Dr Sophie Chandauka, the head of the Sentebale charity he co-founded in 2006, have been locked in a war of words over the past week.
The head of a charity founded by Prince Harry claimed that he tried to "eject" her during a months-long campaign of "bullying" and "harassment".
Chandauka has also alleged Harry asked her to act as an "extension of the Sussex PR machine" to support Meghan's reputation.
This comes as Meghan was seen at a Polo event in 2024 asking Chandauka to move to her left, away from Harry.
The charity founder was forced to duck beneath the Prince's arm, in a widely publicised moment that allegedly sparked tension between Chandauka and the Sussexes.
Read More: Charity boss accuses Harry of 'demanding' statement defending Meghan amid 'bullying' row
Harry reportedly asked the founder to release a public statement to defend Meghan.
"We would have been really excited had we known ahead of time [Meghan was coming], but we didn't," the founder told Sky News.
"And so 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 so, number one. And number two, because we cannot be an extension of the Sussexes."
Chandauka alleged that Meghan said she was not attending the event - but showed up anyway.
Harry, his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and charity trustees stepped down from the charity over concerns about the way the charity was being run.
The initial dispute is said to have arisen around a decision to focus fundraising in Africa.
Dr Chandauka told Sky News: "Really, what Prince Harry wanted to do was to eject me from the organisation and this went on for months.
"It went on for months through bullying, harassment. I have documentation."
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She added: "There were board meetings where members of the executive team and external strategic advisors were sending me messages saying, 'Should I interrupt? Should I stop this? Oh my gosh, this is so bad'.
"In fact, our strategic adviser for fundraising then sent me a message saying she wouldn't want to ever attend any more board meetings or bring her colleagues because of the treatment.
"When that failed, Prince Harry started to brief, and his team, sponsors that I've been speaking to, against me and the charity because that is a sure way of getting me out if it's seen as though I'm not being successful in my fundraising efforts."
Asked about reports trustees had lost confidence in her leadership and whether she was "the problem", rather than Harry, Dr Chandauka said: "It was me who was the problem, because I put a whistleblower complaint about the bullying, the harassment and the misogyny, and Prince Harry interfered in the investigation of that.
"And the senior independent director, who should have taken care of it, was the very same person who then delivered the news to me that I was going to be removed by the board.
"So it's a cover-up, and the prince is involved."
