Prince Harry needs to stand up to ‘racism, sexism & bullying’ row at his charity – he can’t run and hide, expert says
PRINCE Harry needs to “stand up and right” while he “takes responsibility” for his charity racism row, an expert said.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, has found himself at the centre of a bitter feud that has seen him resign for his beloved Sentebale organisation.
The dad-of-two founded the charity in 2006 in memory of his mum, Princess Diana, along with pal Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.
But in a statement seen by The Times, the pair revealed last night how they are siding with the charity’s trustees after they unanimously resigned.
Their decision came after a row with Dr Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, who was selected to be chair of the trustees last year.
Their battle is believed to have been triggered by the move to transfer the charity’s fundraising operation to Africa, which caused several key figures to quit the organisation.
It is understood the trustees wanted Dr Chandauka to step down, which has seen her sue.
She has since hit out with bombshell allegations of racism, bullying and misogyny.
Royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Sun: “It’s a complicated story, Harry and the Prince of Lesotho have been obliged to resign because they are patrons of this charity.
“The charity is in trouble, because the new chairperson has had altercations with the board of trustees and she’s accusing them of misogyny. She’s accusing them of racism.
“And on this board of trustees are friends of Harry’s, including Mark Dyer, who helped him set up the charity.
“So it’s very personal to Harry, and he was obviously advised by his lawyers just to stand down for the moment because he couldn’t be embroiled in this kind of mess.”
The royal expert highlighted how other charities have face similar struggles when the patrons, such as the Duke, are not involved closely.
“Now these things do sometimes happen in charities when the patrons of the charity don’t know what’s going on, on a day-to-day basis,” she said.
“And in fact, it also happened to Diana because she resigned from a lot of her charities when she realized the way they were being run and the money that was being wasted.”
Ms Seward said Diana, like Harry, was “very shocked” by the incidents within many of her charitable organisations.
But the expert added: “Harry’s just going to have to stand up and fight for it if he can.
“But he’s going to have to do it behind the scenes. He can’t do it in a public way, because she might even try to Sue Harry and the Prince of Lesotho.
What is Sentebale?
Sentebale was set up to support those living in poverty, as well as those suffering from Aids and HIV, in Lesotho.
Prince Harry started the charity in honour of his mum, Princess Diana, who died in 1997.
He met his co-founder Prince Seeiso while on his gap year in 2004.
The word Sentebale means “forget-me-not” in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho.
“I think Harry does need to to stand up and fight for it and take responsibility, even though it’s not his fault.
“If he cares about this charity so much, he needs to try and see what he can do behind the scenes, and I read the stories that he’s not stepping away from it forever. Potentially he might come back.
“But I think it’s so important to him. It wouldn’t be in Harry’s character really to sort of run away from something that he’d set up himself, and it means so much to him because it was set up with the Prince of Lesotho in memory of both their mothers, both of whom had died. So it’s a very personal thing for Harry, and I think he does need to fight for it.
“It’s very, very difficult to know what exactly has gone on, but it’s probably down to certain key individuals who are on the spot running it.
“You know Harry is miles and miles away in California, and the Prince of Lesotto is on the spot but maybe not actual sitting in the office.
“So I think they have to take overall responsibility. And I think Harry really should stand up and do that, and I think he would want to. But what exactly he can do I don’t know.
“My understanding is he’s resigning because she is the chairwoman and is threatening to sue the trustees, and Harry has to stand with the trustees, whohave been personally chosen by him and the Prince of Lesotho. I believe that’s what’s happening.
“He’s in a very awkward position, and obviously he has taken legal advice. I mean, I think Harry takes legal advice on everything, and that’s what he’s been advised to do. Just resign as patrons, and we’ll see what happens.”
‘Abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir’
This comes as an explosive statement was given to The Mail, by Dr Chandauka, in which she claimed there had been a “cover-up” at the charity.
She alleged there was “weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir”.
Misogynoir is the term used for describing discrimination against black women.
The board chair also slammed “people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people…then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain”.
She told how the charity “is not a vanity project” and she will “not be intimidated”.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Sun, the Zimbawean lawyer said she had acted with integrity as a “proud African” and “stand[s] for those other women who do not have the ways and means”.
Dr Chandauka emphasised she was purely focused on “fundraising for the very important work of the young people” in Sentebale.
She is understood to be suing the trustees over calls for her to stand down from the post.
Meanwhile, Harry stepped down from the charity yesterday, siding with his co-founder and the entire board of trustees.
‘Devastating’
In the Princes’ statement, which is yet to be publicly released, they said: “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.”
They added: “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 Charity Commission has confirmed that an investigation is underway into the charity, which was set up to support those living with HIV and Aids in Africa.
A spokesperson told The Sun: “We can confirm that we are aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale.
“We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.”
Sentebale has not received formal resignations from either of the royal patrons, it is understood.
However, it confirmed to The Sun that a “restructuring” of the board had taken place.
Harry, who has also undertaken charity work with Meghan as part of The Archwell Foundation, set up Sentebale after visiting Lesotho on his gap year in 2004.
It was on the trip that he met his future co-founder, Prince Seeiso, who had also lost his mum the year before.
Sophie Chandauka's full statement
Sophie Chandauka MBE told The Sun: “I chose to join Sentebale first and foremost as a proud African who understands that, in the spirit of ubuntu: to whom much is given, much is expected.
“Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organisation, its mission, and the young people we serve.
“My actions are guided by the principles of fairness and equitable treatment for all, regardless of social status or financial means.
“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.
“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 – and the coverup that ensued.
“I could be anyone. I just happen to be an educated woman who understands that the law will guide and protect me. I will say nothing further on this matter at this time.
“I have one job. I must focus on fundraising for the very important work of the young people who inspire the incredible team at Sentebale who make sacrifices daily at a time when geopolitics is severely impacting funding for development work in Africa.
“For me, this is not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account.
“I am an African who has had the privilege of a worldclass 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.
“I am indebted to those who have stood by me and picked up my urgent call for help so that we can continue the mission at Sentebale.
“I will continue to faithfully perform my role as Chair of the Board, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with others who are interested in issues of health, wealth and climate resilience for young people in Africa.”
In the statement, the pair said they had started the charity, which means “forget-me-not”, in honour of their mums.
They added that they had no choice but to support the trustees, who had acted in the best interest of the charity.
A statement provided to The Times by former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West stated that Chandauka’s lawsuit had been initiated to “block us from voting her out.”
A spokesperson for Sentebale said: “We are pleased to confirm the restructuring of our Board on 25 March 2025 to introduce experts with the capabilities and networks to accelerate Sentebale’s transformation agenda as announced last year.
“In April 2024, Sentebale signalled its evolution from a development organisation focused on addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS on the lives of children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana, to one that is addressing issues of youth health, wealth and climate resilience in Southern Africa.
“Our highly successful Return to Southern Africa (RTSA) campaign with prospective international funders in October 2024 demonstrated Sentebale’s potential in these domains.
“The RTSA was followed by the announcement of Carmel Gaillard as our Interim Executive Director based in Johannesburg in December 2024.
“This followed Sentebale’s confirmation of its strategy to redeploy senior roles to be proximate to most of the team and programmes in Southern Africa.
“The recalibration of the Board is, therefore, part of Sentebale’s ambitious transformation agenda.”
The Sussexes were contacted for comment.