Prince Harry stepped down this week from a charity he began 20 years ago, after an ugly media row. The Duke of Sussex was one of a number of trustees of the Lesotho-based HIV and Aids charity Sentebale to resign over what he called “untenable” leadership. Here is what we know about what occurred.
What happened?
On Tuesday night, Harry issued a joint statement saying he was “in shock” and “truly heartbroken” to be resigning as a trustee of the charity he founded in 2006 in memory of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, with his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, over a dispute with the organisation’s chair, Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwean lawyer.
In response, Chandauka hit back, saying they had unsuccessfully tried to oust her because she “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”.
Who else resigned?
The trustees Timothy Boucher, Harry’s former aide Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, who runs Botswana-based public health organisations, Dr Kelello Lerotholi, who was responsible for local funding, and Damian West, a schoolmate of Seeiso’s from Ampleforth college in North Yorkshire who has worked as a consultant in Africa.
What is the row about?
It appears a division emerged in the board when Chandauka wanted to modernise Sentebale and diversify its income away from being dependent on the prince and the trustees’ wealthy friends. While the charity was successful, it was a kind of pet project for Harry, relying on the annual Sentebale polo cup and surviving the Covid pandemic largely through a pro bono performance by the pop star James Blunt, a friend of the previous chair Johnny Hornby, according to one account.
Chandauka, who said decisions were made collectively with the board, hired the expensive strategy firm Lebec to shift the charity’s fundraising focus away from what a source described as “a bunch of white blokes”. When donations were reportedly weaker than expected, Harry and other board members asked Chandauka to step down. She refused, taking legal action to stay in her post and reporting them to the Charity Commission. She blamed the drop in donations on the Duke of Sussex’s “toxic brand”, as a result of his public spat with the royal family, and said there was a “significant correlation” with when he left the UK.
How did it escalate?
After the princes’ statement, Chandauka accused Harry of an “unleashing of the Sussex machine” – in other words, engaging his powerful PR team – without telling the charity he had resigned. In a statement, she said: “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.”
She accused the prince and the former trustees of making moves against her because they felt “a loss of power and control and influence … ‘Oh my goodness, the Africans are taking over.’” She said she had previously had a “great relationship” with Harry, whose involvement she said she welcomed, but he had caused problems such as inviting a Netflix crew to a polo tournament in Miami last year without clearing it properly, which led to a new venue needing to be found, and bringing his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, along with no notice, resulting in negative press the charity was unprepared for.
What is Harry saying?
The prince has stayed tight-lipped about the allegations and has not responded to any specific claims. A source close to the resigned trustees and patrons said they “fully expected this publicity stunt and reached their collective decision with this in mind”.
What happens next?
Appearing on Sky News with a current board member, the investment banker Iain Rawlinson, Chandauka said she had “documentation” relating to months of bullying and harassment.
An investigation by the Charity Commission will be carried out. A commission spokesperson said: “We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.”
On the future of the charity, Chandauka pointed to the 500-plus staff who worked there, mostly in Lesotho, saying: “Sentebale will live, Sentebale will live on because of the people.”
