Prince Harry is the face of several charities, from those he founded to those he supports. Sentebale was first established in 2006, and the Duke of Sussex set it up in honour of his mother.
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The Prince was inspired to launch the charity based in Lesotho after spending two months there during his gap year in 2004. The charity works closely with young people affected by HIV and AIDS in Lesotho, which, according to Sky News, has one of the world's highest rates of HIV and AIDS.
Princess Diana – Prince Harry’s mother – was a strong advocate for those affected by HIV and AIDS. Prince Harry recently announced he was stepping down from the charity, which was set up with co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho ‘in honour of our mothers’.
Prince Harry steps down from Sentebale charity
In a joint statement, Prince Harry announced ‘with heavy hearts’ that he and Prince Seeiso were stepping down as patrons of Sentebale. Per the statement, the board of trustees ‘have had to do the same’, and their resignation is in ‘support of and solidarity’.
Prince Harry explained in his statement that the ‘relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair’.
Neither prince shares details of what happened, but it has been reported that a row has taken place between the board of trustees and the chairwoman, Dr Sophie Chandauka. Nonetheless, they say that what happened was ‘unthinkable’. They added that they will share ‘all of [their] concerns’ with the Charity Commission.
We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale's beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about.
The Sentebale chairwoman hits back with her own statement
Following the joint statement released by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, Dr Sophie Chandauka shared her own, giving her version of events.
As reported by Sky News, Dr Chandauka’s statement provides a few more details than the princes’. She said of the situation:
[A] 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.
She claims that some people believe they ‘are above the law’ and use this to ‘mistreat people, and then play the victim card’.
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.
Amid both statements, a Charity Commission spokesperson said it is ‘aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale’. They added that they are ‘assessing the issues’ to take the ‘appropriate regulatory steps’.
What we know about the row
Per the Daily Mail, when Dr Sophie was appointed as the chairwoman in 2024, many were not on board with the decision. The board of trustees wanted her to step down, which led to Dr Sophie suing.
It is believed that the row ignited when it was decided to move the charity’s fundraising operation to Africa, causing key figures to walk away.
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Sources used:
Sky News: ‘Prince Harry 'in shock' as he quits Sentebale charity set up in honour of Princess Diana’
Daily Mail: ‘Prince Harry in astonishing 'racist, sexist bullying' row: Chairwoman of his beloved African charity makes thinly veiled swipe at those who 'play the victim card' and accuses colleagues of 'harassment and misogyny' - after he QUIT amid bust-up with her’
