Prince Harry 'in shock' after quitting AIDS charity founded in Princess Diana's honor
LONDON — Prince Harry said he was "in shock" after quitting as a patron of Sentebale, a British charity he set up to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana, following a conflict between trustees and the chair of the board.
Harry co-founded Sentebale in 2006 in honor of his mother, Princess Diana, nine years after she was killed in a Paris car crash. Sentebale means "forget-me-not" in the local language of Lesotho in southern Africa.
Co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, as well as the board of trustees, joined Harry in leaving Sentebale following a leadership dispute with chair Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer who has refused to step down and sued the charity in order to retain her position, according to The Times. Britain's Charity Commission confirmed to the outlet on Tuesday that an investigation is underway.
"Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honor of our mothers. Sentebale means 'forget-me-not' in Sesotho ... and it's what we've always promised for the young people we've served through this charity," Harry and Seeiso said in a joint statement obtained by United Kingdom news outlets Sky News and The Times.
The princes have resigned "in support of and solidarity" with the board of trustees, who had acted in the best interests of the charity in asking the chair to step down, the joint statement said.
"It is devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation," the statement continued.
In a statement shared with Reuters, Chandauka said she would continue to perform her role.
"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 said.
She added that underlying the "victim narrative and fiction" that she said had been fed to the media was "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."
The Charity Commission said it was aware of concerns about Sentebale's governance.
"We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps," a spokesperson said.
Harry, who lives in California with his wife, Duchess Meghan, and their two children, stopped working as a member of the royal family in 2020. He has been heavily involved in causes in Africa for many years and visited Nigeria last year.
"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 statement added. "Although we may no longer be Patrons, we will always be its founders, and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care."
Reuters has contacted Sentebale for comment.
Contributing: Sarah Young, Reuters; Taijuan Moorman, Paste BN