Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are facing a fresh wave of headlines thanks to a new royal biography that’s dredging up old controversies — and tossing new accusations onto the pile.
The book is by British author Tom Bower, and it’s titled Betrayal. It’s currently being serialized in the U.K., and the latest extracts zero in on two of Harry’s most high-profile passion projects: his longtime charity Sentebale and the Invictus Games.
Bower has previously described his approach to reporting as “find the victims,” and in this round, he reportedly focuses on Sentebale chair Sophie Chandauka — who had a major falling-out with Harry last year and later accused him of misogyny and racism.
Sentebale was founded by Harry and Prince Seeiso to support children and young people affected by HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. But Bower’s book revisits early questions about spending and leadership pay.
He writes that in 2008, only £84,000 of the £1.15 million raised through events (including a concert in memory of Princess Diana and a TV documentary featuring Harry) was spent helping AIDS orphans. He also claims the charity’s first director was paid £100,000 a year — plus major perks, including housing, staff, and private education for the director’s children.
The book then jumps forward to 2021, when Harry reportedly contributed £1.1 million from the profits of his memoir, Spare. Bower claims the donation made the charity too dependent on Harry’s book and unsettled some donors.
According to the extract, Chandauka later warned Harry about the charity’s image problem with potential supporters, allegedly telling him: “People don’t want to be associated with your Netflix shows and especially not with Meghan.”
Bower claims Harry pushed back by pointing to Johnny Depp — arguing that Depp remained a box-office draw despite his legal battles with Amber Heard.
The book also alleges that around that time, two London-based directors were earning £350,000 plus extras. Chandauka is quoted as allegedly telling Harry the charity needed a different strategy to attract money, saying: “We need American corporates who want to be associated with your mission, not you personally. They don’t want your victimhood… It can’t be Africans with a begging bowl.”
Then came the power struggle.
Bower claims that after Harry visited the charity for the first time in four years in October 2024, he tried to regain control by firing Chandauka — and failed. The extract says Harry ultimately resigned in March 2025, along with Prince Seeiso and the board of trustees.
The controversy doesn’t stop with Sentebale.
A separate section of the serialization sparked an immediate response from Harry’s camp after it questioned elements of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver — including claims about low attendance and the legitimacy of some competitors’ injuries.
Bower reportedly describes one wheelchair basketball match as subdued, claiming only 43 paying spectators attended, while about 100 people were brought in by organizers and “corralled” around Harry and Meghan for photos.
He also describes a game where an eight-man Nigerian team was defeated by what he characterized as “professionally trained Americans.” In his account, two Nigerian players had lost a leg, while members of the American team were said to be competing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bower further claims that after the game, the American team wheeled into a private area — then stood up and walked away — suggesting some had no visible physical injuries.
Representatives for Harry blasted the claims, saying the book misrepresents the purpose of the Invictus Games and spreads harmful misunderstanding about invisible injuries like PTSD. Invictus was founded in 2014 to support wounded, injured, and sick service members and veterans, including those dealing with psychological trauma.
The Invictus Games Foundation also pushed back hard, saying it was “disappointing” to see prominence given to commentary that appears driven by “a long-established agenda” rather than a real understanding of the community Invictus serves. The Foundation added that questioning competitors’ legitimacy or diminishing invisible injuries is “deeply disrespectful” — and said the focus should remain on “courage, recovery and camaraderie.”
As the drama swirled, the writer behind the column said a subscriber had once left a lengthy comment describing a negative first-hand experience as a guest at a previous Invictus Games.
When the writer went back to find it, the comment was gone — deleted. Who removed it, and why? The column suggests that’s still being looked into.
Bottom line: A new book is reopening old wounds for Harry and Meghan — and the blowback isn’t staying limited to palace gossip. It’s now hitting the projects Harry has long held up as the heart of his public mission.
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