Sentebale charity sues Prince Harry for libel following major fallout with chairwoman

Dorothy Reddin
Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:33:26 +0000

A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, which he quit following a high-profile dispute, is suing the British royal for libel at the High Court in London, a court record showed on Friday.

The Duke of Sussex co-founded Sentebale in 2006 to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana.

However, he resigned as a patron in ⁠March 2025 after a public falling-out with the chairwoman of the board, Sophie Chandauka.

The Duke of Sussex "categorically" rejects the "offensive and damaging" libel claim from his former charity, his spokesman confirmed.

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According to a record made public on Friday, Sentebale lodged a defamation claim last month at the High Court against Harry and one of his close friends, Mark Dyer, who was also a trustee of the charity.

There were no details as to what the lawsuit involved; it was originally filed on March 24.

The Board of Trustees and the Executive Director of Sentebale issued a scathing statement on Friday evening, accusing Harry and Mr Dyer of "triggering an onslaught of cyber-bullying", claims which the duke has "categorically" rejected.

The charity's co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, and the board of trustees joined Harry in leaving Sentebale last year.

The duke helped set up the charity nine years after Princess Diana was killed in a Paris car crash.

Sentebale means "forget-me-not" in the local language of Lesotho in southern Africa.

Prince Harry previously called the breakdown in the relationship with Dr Chandauka devastating.

The chairwoman reported the 41-year-old prince and the trustees to Britain's charity regulator for alleged bullying and harassment.

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After a review, the Charity Commission reported it had ⁠found no evidence of bullying.

However, it said there had been weak governance and criticised all parties for allowing an internal dispute to become public.

Dr Chandauka previously said Harry’s “unleashing of the Sussex machine” had broken the relationship between the prince and the 540 people who work for the Sentebale charity.

She claimed the duke briefed the press about stepping back from the charity before letting her or the charity’s executive director know first.

Sources close to Harry described her claims as "baseless" and a "publicity stunt".

Following the Charity Commission report that scrutinised the dispute, a spokesman for Prince Harry stated that the report "falls troublingly short".

He added that the "consequences of the current chair's actions will not be borne by her, but by the children who rely on Sentebale's support".