Prince Harry has long since been a patron of Sentebale, a Southern African nonprofit that he co-founded along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, but after recent drama with the chairwoman of the foundation, both princes have stepped down. Chairwoman Dr. Sophie Chandauka refused to step down after being asked to do so by trustees, and then took things a step further by suing them. Keep reading for more information.
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Chairwoman of Sentebale Refuses To Step Down
Sentebale, which Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso co-founded in 2006, covers "healthcare, critical life skills, education, advocacy, vocational training, and climate resistence" for children living in the South African countries of Lesotho and Botswana. Both princes set up the charity in memory of their late mothers.
Since July 2023, Dr. Chandauka has served as the Chairwoman after previously serving on the nonprofit board from 2009 - 2015. According to sources speaking to People, she has financially strained the organization after taking over two years ago. Namely, by canceling the Sentebale Polo Cup. The event is a major fundraiser for the foundation and didn't occur in 2024 after a rift between Dr. Chandauka and a major funder. Allegedly, she also spent over $600,000 on external consultants without the board's approval.
After this, the board requested that she resign in February 2025. She did not receive this well, and allegedly refused and filed a legal challenge to block their voting process. As a result, the board resigned. Former trustees, Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Dr. Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West, said in a statement that they had lost “trust and confidence” in their chair and felt they had no choice but to resign in order to ensure Sentebale did not spend more unnecessary funds on a lawsuit.
Dr. Chandauka denied the allegations and said that she had taken legal action "because of the cover-up of issues relating to abuse of power, misconduct, mismanagement, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir amongst other concerns.
Prince Harry Quits Sentebale & Is Cleared Of Bullying Accusations
In March 2025, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso released a joint statement that announced they would be stepping down as charity patrons in support of the trustees. "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," the statement read. "In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship."
"What's transpired is unthinkable," the statement continues. "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."
In April 2025, The Charity Commission for England and Wales started investigating Dr. Chandauka's claims of bullying and harassment. Now, in August, the findings have been released, and Prince Harry is in the clear. The Commission found no evidence of "widespread of systemic bullying, harassment, misogyny, or misogynoir."
With this, Prince Harry's team released a charged statement: "Unsurprisingly, the Commission makes no findings of wrongdoing in relation to Sentebale’s Co-Founder and former Patron, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "They also found no evidence of widespread bullying, harassment, or misogyny and misogynoir at the charity, as falsely claimed by the current Chair."
