Prince Harry’s ‘Devastating’ Decision to Resign from Charity Set Up to Honor Princess Diana

Prince Harry is stepping away from his position as patron of his charity organization Sentebale, which was created in 2006 by Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to honor their moms Princess Diana and Queen Mamohato.

Harry and Seeiso are resigning as the charity’s leadership is facing some controversy, even being investigated by the U.K.’s Charity Commission.

In a statement, Harry and Seeiso said, “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."

“Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honor of our mothers," their statement continued. "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. Today is no different."

The charity was set up to help young people of Lesotho and Botswana with health issues, like HIV/AIDS, wealth inequality, and climate resilience.

According to Harry and Seeiso, they had to make the tough decision due to the charity’s trustees and chairwoman Dr. Sophie Chandauka’s deteriorating relationship.

They said, “With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees, who have had to do the same. 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."

Things have gotten ugly with Dr. Chandauka. 

Harry and Seeiso explained, “These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down while keeping the well-being of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship."

“Although we may no longer be patrons, we will always be its founders," the two royals emphasized, "and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care."

Dr. Chandauka is sharing her own side of the story, telling NBC News, “Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organization, its mission, and the young people we serve. 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."

Dr. Chandauka was the one who went to the Charity Commission to report misconduct by board members.

She said, “Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is 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. I could be anyone. I just happen to be an educated woman who understands that the law will guide and protect me."

Some board members are also reacting to Harry’s resignation and the drama with Dr. Chandauka, telling NBC News, “Today’s decision is nothing short of devastating for all of us, but we see no other path forward as the result of our loss in trust and confidence in the chair of the board. It’s desperately sad the breakdown in relationship escalated to a lawsuit by the chair against the charity, to block us from voting her out after our request for her resignation was rejected." 

They stressed, “We could not in good conscience allow Sentebale to undertake that legal and financial burden and have been left with no other option but to vacate our positions. This was not a choice willingly made, but rather something we felt forced into in order to look after the charity."