What's Prince Harry's purpose without Sentebale? - Inside the Palace

WHAT'S PRINCE HARRY'S PURPOSE WITHOUT SENTEBALE?

This week, the UK charity watchdog published its findings of an investigation into Sentebale, a charity cofounded by Prince Harry, after a bitter row erupted between the chairwoman, patrons and trustees.

One of the biggest criticisms of all parties was allowing the bitter boardroom battle to play out in public.

And yet, both sides refused to accept blame and took umbrage with the Charity Commission's report.

Briefings and counter-briefings followed, with the Charity Commission urging "all involved to put their differences behind them and allow the charity to focus on its work and beneficiaries."

The former Trustees of Sentebale said: "We remain gravely concerned for the future of the charity and the well-being of the communities we served for 19 years".

Dr Sophie Chandauka, chairwoman of Sentebale, said: "We are emerging not grateful to have survived, but stronger: more focused, better governed, boldly ambitious and with our dignity intact."

For Prince Harry, Sentebale was part of his life's work; he continued to be its patron when he stepped back as a working member of the Royal Family in 2020.

He was stripped of most military titles and royal patronages by the late Queen, but he held onto Sentebale.

His spokesman tells me, having stepped away from the charity, he is looking at other ways to support children in southern Africa, living with HIV, AIDS or mental health issues.

I understand all options are on the table, but it is unclear if this will involve setting up a new charity, supporting an existing one, or something else entirely.

Following a turbulent few years trying to find a professional purpose outside of the palace machine, it appears Prince Harry wants to focus more on philanthropy.

Selling royal secrets has severely damaged his popularity on both sides of the Atlantic, but it appears a different strategy may be about to take hold.

COULD PRINCE WILLIAM REALLY STRIP PRINCE ANDREW OF HIS TITLES?

Extracts of a bombshell biography about the rise and fall of the Duke and Duchess of York have been published, which could be yet another nail in Prince Andrew's PR coffin.

Following a disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, the Duke of York was forced to retreat from public life and was stripped of his royal titles and patronages.

He did, however, keep his 'Duke of York' and 'prince' titles.

On the rare occasions we do see Prince Andrew in public, usually walking to church on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day with the Royal Family, many see it as increasingly uncomfortable.

For the King, whose brother appears to be caught up in scandal after scandal, it is not a good look for the monarchy.

It could be playing on Prince William's mind; as a future King, he will be well aware of negative opinion polls focused on his uncle.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were absent from the Easter Sunday service at St George's Chapel in Windsor this year, where Prince Andrew was unexpectedly the first member of the Royal Family to make a public appearance.

Instead, Prince William and Kate chose to attend a separate church service in Norfolk.

Many have called for King Charles, or a future King William, to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom and royal status; however, it is not that simple.

It is not within the sovereign's power to remove a dukedom; only an Act of Parliament can do that.

It would require political will and Government backing to allow the bill to pass through both houses, and then the monarch would be required to give Royal Assent.

At the moment, the Government has far higher priorities, including stopping illegal migrants crossing the English Channel.

The other option is the sovereign issuing a Letters patent, to remove Andrew's "Prince" title, but Letters patent are signed on the advice of Government ministers - again requiring political will.

As things stand, there appears to be a lot of indifference among the British public when it comes to the Prince Andrew question.

I think it is highly unlikely that any move to further relegate the Duke of York will take place during the reign of King Charles III, but the future King William may choose to be more ruthless.

NEW PHOTOGRAPH TO MARK PRINCESS ANNE'S 75TH BIRTHDAY

Buckingham Palace has released a new photograph of the Princess Royal to mark her 75th birthday next Friday.

Taken ahead of the State Baquet hosted at Windsor Castle for the President of France last month, the image shows Princess Anne alongside her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

Ahead of her milestone birthday, Save the Children UK chief executive Moazzam Malik praised the Princess for her support.

He said: "Obviously, as a royal, she’s not a political figure, but her soft support for us is very inspiring for us as an organisation and for our collaborators and partners.

"She’s very low-key. She’s self-effacing. She doesn’t want to kind of take the limelight, but she’s very committed… You can see that she cares about the state of Britain and the state of the world.

"There’s a lot of challenges for us as a country, and indeed, a lot of challenges for children at a time of great geopolitical challenge. And she cares."

Princess Anne has been supporting Save the Children UK for 55 years, becoming its president in 1970.

The late Queen's daughter is frequently dubbed the "hardest working royal" for carrying out the highest number of public engagements each year.

She shows no signs of slowing down, apparently undeterred by a horse-related injury, which left her hospitalised in June last year.