Prince Harry has officially stepped down as patron of Sentebale, the charity he co-founded nearly 20 years ago with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. The charity, known for supporting people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS, is facing a major governance dispute that prompted the resignation.
In a joint statement released by both princes, they described recent internal conflicts as having created an “untenable situation” and called the breakdown in leadership “unthinkable.”
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“Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honour of our mothers. Sentebale means ‘forget-me-not’ in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho, and it’s what we’ve always promised for the young people we’ve served through this charity,” the statement read.
The princes added, “Today is no different. With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same.”
The core of the dispute centers on the charity’s chair of the board, Sophie Chandauka, and the direction of future fundraising efforts, which she aimed to refocus primarily in Africa. The Times reported that Chandauka is suing the trustees after they raised concerns about her suitability for the leadership role.
Harry and Seeiso’s statement sided with the trustees, stating: “These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.”
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They concluded, “We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act. What’s transpired is unthinkable. 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 Charity Commission has since confirmed that an investigation is underway into the organisation’s governance issues. Several trustees, including Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi, and Damian West, have also stepped down in protest.
A spokesman for Sentebale responded, stating the charity had not yet received official notice of the resignations and described the board changes as part of an “ambitious transformation agenda.” Prince Harry last visited Africa in 2024 to support Sentebale’s work and participated in a charity event in New York in December.
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