Prince Harry is said to be “utterly devastated” today as a report into the charity he co-founded in memory of Princess Diana makes it clear that the organization will now continue without him. The Prince and those around him have reacted strongly after the Charity Commission today published the findings of its investigation into Sentebale.
A source close to Harry told T&C that the Prince is “utterly devastated” by what he considers to be an “effective hostile takeover of this charity.” A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said that the report “falls troublingly short in many regards.” “With the original mission of Sentebale firmly in mind—and in honour of the legacy he and Prince Seeiso began—The Duke of Sussex will now focus on finding new ways to continue supporting the children of Lesotho and Botswana,” the spokesperson said.
The case was referred to watchdog the Charity Commission after Harry, co-founder Prince Seeiso and the then trustees resigned from the charity over a dispute with the chair of the board, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, and her supporters. Dr. Chandauka publicly made accusations of bullying, harassment, misogyny and misogynoir, but the Charity Commission announced today that it found “no evidence” of this. It did, however, identify governance issues and criticize “all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly.” “The charity currently has validly appointed trustees in place to take the charity forward,” the Commission said about next steps, making it clear that Dr. Chandauka and her team will now be tasked with moving on and making improvements.
“I appreciate the Charity Commission for its conclusions which confirm the governance concerns I raised privately in February 2025,” Dr. Chandauka said in a statement today. The statement also said, “Despite the recent turbulence, we will always be inspired by the vision of our Founders, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, who established Sentebale in memory of their precious mothers, Princess Diana and Queen ‘Mamohato.” A source close to Harry told T&C they thought it was in “poor taste” and “disrespectful” that Dr. Chandauka had chosen to reference Princess Diana and Queen Mamohato in her statement.
Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso founded Sentebale, which means “forget me not” in Sesotho, the official language of Lesotho, in 2006 in tribute to their late mothers. The decision was made after Harry spent part of his 2004 gap year in Lesotho and became determined to help vulnerable young people there affected by Lesotho’s HIV epidemic. The organization expanded to also operate in Botswana in 2016.
When Harry stepped back as a working royal, he took Sentebale with him. He chose the charity to receive his 50% share of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund when Sussex Royal ceased to operate. He also gave $1.5 million of the proceeds of his memoir, Spare, to Sentebale.
The charity’s former trustees said today in a statement that they “remain gravely concerned for the future of the charity and the wellbeing of the communities we served for 19 years, following the mission set out by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso in honour of their mothers.” For years, the charity’s staple fundraising event was the Sentebale Polo Cup, which saw Prince Harry compete with friend and professional polo player Nacho Figueras to raise more than $13 million.
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