Prince Harry resigns from charity Sentebale: Charity chair claims ‘bullying and misogyny’ and accuses Prince Harry of having a vanity project

The head of the charity Prince Harry co-founded 20 years ago has described herself as a “whistleblower” fighting “misogyny and bullying”, while appearing to take a thinly-veiled swipe at the royal.

The Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho both resigned as patrons from Sentebale on Monday “in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees” due to infighting in the organisation.

The row is said to involve Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer and the chair of the African charity’s board.

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Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said they made the “unthinkable” and “devastating” decision to step down from Sentebale, which they created in memory of their late mothers.

In a joint statement, shared by The Times, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said the dispute had created “an untenable situation”.

“What’s transpired is unthinkable,” they said. “We are in shock that we have to do this.”

Now, Chandauka has hit back by saying she had filed a lawsuit against the organisation in London’s High Court.

In a statement, she appears to claim that Sentebale was a “vanity project” for Prince Harry, Prince Seeiso and its trustees.

”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,” Chandauka said.

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“Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the chair of the board report her own trustees to the Charity Commission? Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit?

“Well, because 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 [misogyny directed towards black women] and the cover-up that ensued. I could be anyone.”

Chandauka said Sentebale was not “a vanity project” from which she could resign when called to account.

She said she would continue in her role as chair of the board and would focus on fundraising.

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“I am an African who has had the privilege of a world-class education and career. I will not be intimidated. I must stand for something. I stand for those other women who do not have the ways and means.”

News of Prince Harry’s resignation from the charity broke on Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning in Australia).

Sentebale was co-founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 following the duke’s gap year there in 2004.

It helps children affected by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi.

The charity’s name means ‘forget me not’ and was inspired by Princess Diana’s favourite flower.

Its creation was inspired by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso’s mothers, women who used their platforms to raise awareness about difficult subjects and brought hope and help to vulnerable communities.

Prince Harry travelled to Lesotho for events with Sentebale in October for the first time since 2018.

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And in December, he was in New York to celebrate the launch of a fundraising exhibition for Sentebale.

In their joint statement yesterday Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said the decision was made “with heavy hearts”.

They said: “Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honour of our mothers. 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. With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organisation 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.”

”These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.

“We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act.

“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.

“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.”

Last year Chandauka was appointed to the post as chair. She is understood to be suing the trustees after they questioned whether she was best placed to chair the board.

It followed the resignation of CEO Richard Miller in December who stepped down after five years at the helm of the organisation.

The move was part of a bigger plan to base the most critical senior roles in southern Africa, enabling the organisation to shift greater executive decision-making power to the region, the charity said

Miller became the fourth person to resign from the charity, following the departure of three others in recent months.

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