Sentebale: Why can't Prince Harry escape tragedy?

0:02Hi, I'm Rachel Abbott and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. If you're new here, hit follow and give us a rating. Coming up, as if, we're joined by Emma Flynn, who is currently starring as Cher Horowitz in Clueless the Musical on London's West End. I say totally buggin', like, actually a lot in my life now. Like, oh my god, I'm totally buggin'. Like, I, you know, I'm running late. Oh my god, I'm buggin'. I just think that's my favourite.

0:36But first, the chair of trustees at Centabale, the charity founded by Prince Harry, has released a bombshell statement after the Duke of Sussex announced he is stepping down as patron over unthinkable infighting. Prince Harry confirmed on Tuesday night that he was resigning from the African charity he co-founded in 2006 to honour his mother Diana. Harry and Prince Ciso said the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation. To walk us through everything, we're joined by India Block, the London Standard's culture and lifestyle writer.

1:16India, could you start by telling us about the charity? For anyone who doesn't know, when and why was it set up? Sure. So Santa Bale, which means forget-me-not, was set up in 2006 when Prince Harry was about 22 years old. It was set up in the memory of Princess Diana, in part, alongside Princessesia of Lesotho. And it focuses on children and young people who live in Lesotho and also Botswana, many of whom are living with HIV and AIDS. The pair released a joint statement. In more detail, what have they said about their resignation? Yeah, so it seems to have been quite a shock resignation. They're still on the website for the charity.

2:01And they've said that there has been unthinkable infighting within the charity. They basically seem to have fallen out with the chair of the trustees. They wanted her to step down. She's refused to resign and has brought a case against them to the charities commission. And basically, Harry and Prince Ciccio have said, the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation. What more do we know about the infighting within the organisation? This statement seems to have stirred up even more problems. So the current chair of the board is Sophie Chanduka.

2:43She has had that position since 2023, but she's been involved with the charity for much longer. She's a lawyer from Zimbabwe. She's an MBE. And she has hit back at the two princes with a statement that was given to the Daily Mail where she has defended her actions. and also, I guess, the subtext is called out Harry personally. She says that there are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct. Discerning readers will ask themselves, why would the chair of the board report her own trustees to the charity commission?

3:27Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit? Well, because beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to the press, is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir, and the cover-up that ensued. They're quite strong words, India. Yeah, it's a very strong statement. You know, clearly she's come out fighting. This is an absolute refusal to step down. It sounds like the charity will go ahead with its project without the princes.

4:03She also says that this is not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account, which does seem quite harsh given that Harry, and this is of course my personal opinion, seems a little bit harsh considering that he co-founded the charity. But obviously that was 20 years ago and the charity sector overseas aid has gone through a lot of changes in that time. And it's a particularly high pressure moment with what's going on in the world, with America pulling the funding for so many HIV and AIDS programs. But yeah, this seems like a very delicate time, not just for the charity, but for the whole sector as a whole.

4:45And I mean, again, this is my opinion. It seems to have unraveled quite quickly because we've got interviews from sort of 2024, this time last year almost, where Sophie Chanduka was full of praise for Harry and his resilience and how he worked so hard. And now it seems like this is, you know, really done a 180. This news comes so close to Mother's Day. And as you say in your article, this must be an excruciating blow for Harry. Yeah, I just, I feel very sorry for him. This is something that's been part of his life for 20 years. It was set up in the memory of his late mother and he has so few memories that people don't feel entitled to in one way or another.

5:30and this was his way of not forgetting her, of keeping the work she did alive. And Diana was in a similar situation to Harry all those years ago where she had to give up 100 charities in 1996, the year before she died, because of her divorce. And of the six charities she was able to keep playing a role in, one of those was the National AIDS Trust. And we know how important campaigning for people living with and dying from AIDS was to her. We know that she was defying the royal family to sack off holidaying in Balmoral, strive through the night to be there when her dear friend was dying of it. And obviously, this is a story that's so headline-grabbing and honestly seems pretty calculated in terms of the discourse it's going to generate.

6:23So I think it's very sad for Harry. And I think it's very sad for the children and the young people who this charity has been aiming to protect. It's really hard to fundraise for overseas aid at the moment. And there is no doubt that this is going to have a really significant impact on that work. Do you think Prince Harry will work on continuing the project in a different way? What's next from here? I don't know. It's tricky. He had only very few charities left to him. He's a dad to two young kids. He's got a lot going on and going for him. I mean, I hope he does find a way to continue fundraising and campaigning for young people, for people living with HIV and AIDS.

7:00He obviously felt this was the right thing to do and that he had to stand in solidarity with the rest of the board. You know, we're unlikely to ever know exactly what went on or what he personally thinks about it, but I hope that he finds other ways to keep his mother's memory alive. Let's go to a break. Coming up in part two. I kind of feel like Cher is too cool to post, like, a lot on social media. I feel like she would post, like, vague, like, darkly lit photos of like very fancy restaurants and like you know designer stores. I think that her outfits would only be even more fabulous. We speak to Emma Flynn on what it's like to be playing one of the most iconic characters in film history Cher Horowitz in Clueless the musical.

7:51Welcome back. 30 years since Clueless hit cinemas it's now on in musical form at the Trafalgar Theatre in the West End.

8:10The musical is directed by Rachel Kavanagh, with music scored by the multi-platinum Brit Award winning singer-songwriter Katie Tunstall. Lyrics are from Grammy Award winner Glenn Slater, known for Sister Act and Tangled. And I'm delighted to be joined by New Yorker Emma Flynn, who plays Cher. Emma, thanks so much for joining us. It is such a pleasure. I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Emma, this must be the dream role for any fan of the movie Clueless. Were you a fan growing up? How did it feel when you landed the job? Oh my gosh, I was such a fan growing up. My mom absolutely loved the film and I had a bunch of friends who loved the film and I have five little sisters and we all used to watch the movie together.

8:52I probably watched it like a thousand times. When I got the role, it was so unbelievable to me because at that point in my career, I was like between jobs, I was nannying, I was really struggling to get auditions. And when my agent called me, I was like, you're actually kidding. I was like, I'm moving to London. So it was just my whole world turned upside down. But it was like the best feeling ever. It felt like I got into an Ivy League school. I was like, oh my god, it was like the most exciting moment of my life. My other second thought was like, oh my gosh, if we do this, we have to do it right because I just find the movie so sacred and I am such a huge clueless fan.

9:31It was also just like really like, oh my gosh, like intimidating, like I must do the movie right. I mean, definitely. You're following in Alicia Silverstone's footsteps. What does that feel like? Oh my gosh. Well, I'm just a huge fan of her as a person. And I thought that she was so adorable in the film. So I really tried to emulate the parts of her that I feel like just had the biggest impact on Cher and like Cher's personalities. just the way that she spoke like her speaking patterns and just like the very california accent and that like drew very more kind of like mouth movement that she has that i just think everyone finds so adorable like when they watch the movie it's just the way that she talks and also just how sincere she was in the role i feel like are the two main things that i like really tried to bring with me into this production do you think share would be any different in 2025 I mean, I sort of imagine her to be way more Cher.

10:31You know, that's a really good question. She exists so much in the microcosm of this era, this kind of make-believe 90s idealistic era. But I think in 2025, I think it would almost only make her more unattainable seeming just because social media would exist. And I feel like she would be so in the upper echelon that it would be like, you know, just add another element like being able to see inside of her life, having social media and all those things. But I kind of feel like Cher is too cool to post like a lot on social media. I feel like she would post like kind of like vague, like darkly lit photos of like very fancy restaurants and like, you know, designer stores.

11:17I think that her outfits would only be even more fabulous. In the UK, there has been a lot of conversation surrounding the term Incel after it featured in the new Netflix show Adolescence. How do you think Cher would react to that culture? I haven't seen Adolescence. I know I'm like living under a rock, but I definitely don't think Cher stands for social injustice. Like I think she, especially by the end of her journey, she's like very big into justice and being a good person. So I think she would definitely, And Cher is not afraid to speak her mind or speak up, which is something that I love about her.

11:55So I think that she would probably not stand by if something bad was being said or happening. Have you spoken much with the original writer-director of the film, Amy Heckling? Yeah. So I worked with her directly on the show, which was really good. She wrote the book for the musical as well. Amy is such an amazing woman. I've spoken a lot to her. She's now, I would say, a close friend, which is really a privilege. and to know her, you know, at all. And she's just been a wonderful resource. Having her in the room is a real treat because obviously she is the show to me and she understands like the inner workings of everyone's minds.

12:32And, you know, it's so great to be able to ask her, oh, why is this person named this? Is it because of this? And oh, yep, yep, this is why. And, you know, to just have her answers there is just so fantastic. And she's just a brilliant writer and a hilarious person. Have you spoken to Alicia? I have not spoken to Alicia. I would love to. Oh my God, if she's listening, hey, Alicia, I'd love to meet you. But no, I haven't met her yet. She's very busy. She's a mom and a writer herself. I don't know if she knows that this is happening in the West End, but I hope I get to meet her someday. That would be like a dream come true.

13:08What has it been like working with Katie Tunstall? She's obviously pretty well known here in the UK. Yes, this was her first musical. And I love Katie. She is like literally the best person I've ever met. Like I tell her this, but she's like literally a ray of sunshine. She's the most positive person I know. And she just rolled with the punches. And being a writer on a musical is especially hard because you have to be okay. We call it killing your babies. So you might write something that ultimately doesn't work out with the show and you just have to kind of toss it. It's like the hardest. It's the most brutal process writing musical.

13:45and she just has rolled with it so well. She's written this amazing score and I'm just so proud of her. Like for this to be her first musical, it's just filled with so many incredible bops, earworms, like you leave the theater singing the finale songs. Just positivity, it's great. We have a really great team of like very positive, very smart women, which is such a great thing to have nowadays. Out of all of the catchphrases, Emma, are there any you love the most? That's a really good question. I would say I say totally buggin' like actually a lot in my life now. Like, oh my god, I'm totally buggin'.

14:25Like, I, you know, I'm running late. Oh my god, I'm buggin'. I just think that's my favorite. And finally, what are your favorite things about London? What do you get up to when you're not sure? I have loved London. I wish I could see more of it. But obviously, I'm kind of living at the theater nowadays. But I do go to Gale's Bakery. and I love Gail's Bakery. I didn't know it was a chain until I moved to central London. And now I'm like, oh my God, there's a Gail's everywhere, which is so great for me. I love Gail's. I love St. James Park. It's so beautiful with all the birds. And, you know, I just find it really magical to be here.

14:59I love the people. And, you know, I'm finding different restaurants. I love pub culture. I've just found that so adorable that people just go to the pub and I love a Sunday roast.

15:13And that's The Standard. For the latest news, head to standard.co.uk and please do drop us a line at podcasts at standard.co.uk. This show returns tomorrow at 4pm. We'll see you then.