A royal expert has pinpointed the "real tragedy" of Prince Harry's heated row with the chair of Sentebale. In 2006, the Duke of Sussex set up Sentebale in memory of his mother, the late Princess Diana. The charity was founded to help young people with HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.

Harry, 40, and his co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, announced that they were to step down as patrons of the charity last week. Since the news broke, the charity's chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka, has publicly condemned Harry in a blistering attack.

She has accused him of "bullying" while stating there has been "poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, harassment and misogyny" at the charity.

British historian and royal expert Dr Tessa Dunlop has told the Mirror that "public scorched earth policy is difficult to watch, with the charity of a small impoverished African state the biggest loser."

Speaking about the "real tragedy", she added: "And therein lies the real tragedy of this melodrama: amidst the blame and counter blame, the accusations of bullying, harassment and misrepresentation.

"Rather than waiting for rulings from the Charity Commission and High Court, Chandauka is publicly fighting back – including weaponising the Sussexes' words against them, berating their use of the 'very press they disdain, to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct".

Discussing the fact Dr Chandauka recently branded the Sussex brand as "toxic", Dr Dunlop added: "Even for those of us keen to give the Prince the benefit of the doubt, a pattern of entitlement and truculence is emerging.

"It turns out there was something in the TikTok rumours that railed against Meghan when she appeared to move Dr Chandauka out of the picture at that Miami polo match.

"The Duchess and Chandauka were seemingly having a standoff. In other words, the bad blood extended beyond ire towards the Prince's management style, and included Meghan herself. How predictable. And how very disappointing."

Dr Chandauka's allegations have been refuted.