Prince Harry among those criticised in report on dispute at Sentebale charity

The Guardian

4 days ago

The Charity Commission has criticised Prince Harry for allowing a row with the chair of his African charity to 'play out publicly', as the watchdog cleared him of racism.
The prince was engaged in a public war of words earlier this year with the chair of the Sentebale charity, Dr Sophie Chandauka, after his resignation as a patron.
Harry and the co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, stepped down in March and its trustees quit over a dispute with Chandauka, a lawyer appointed in 2023.
After Harry's resignation was made public, Chandauka said she had been subjected to people who 'play the victim card'.
She had said that it was a '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 [discrimination against black women] – and the cover-up that ensued'.
In a ruling on Tuesday in a compliance case into Sentebale, which works with children and young people in southern Africa, the regulator criticised all those involved in the dispute for 'allowing it to play out publicly'. It said the then trustees' failure to resolve disputes internally had 'severely impacted the charity's reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally'.
David Holdsworth, the chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: 'Sentebale's problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity's reputation, risk[ing] overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardising the charity's ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve.
'This case highlights what can happen when there are gaps in governance and policies critical to charities' ability to deliver for their cause. As a result, we have issued the charity a Regulatory Action Plan to make needed improvements and rectify findings of mismanagement.'
In response to the report, a spokesperson for Harry, who was not a trustee and established the charity in memory of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, criticised the commission, claiming its report had fallen 'troublingly short'.
The commission found that a serious dispute between Chandauka and Harry had followed the formulation of a new fundraising strategy in the US. The breakdown in the relationship had been raised with the commission in February but an investigation was only opened in April after an analysis.
The commission did not find evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir, it said, but acknowledged 'the strong perception of ill treatment felt by a number of parties to the dispute and the impact this may have had on them personally'.
It further found no evidence of ''overreach' by either the chair or the Duke of Sussex as patron' but the commission was 'critical of the charity's lack of clarity in delegations to the chair which allowed for misunderstandings to occur'.
It said: 'The commission's assessment of the various accounts that have been provided is that all the charity's then trustees contributed to a missed opportunity to resolve issues which led to the dispute.
'The regulator observed that strategic and financial difficulties that had emerged for the charity following the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the tensions that arose.'
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said: 'Unsurprisingly, the commission makes no findings of wrongdoing in relation to Sentebale's co-founder and former patron, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
'They also found no evidence of widespread bullying, harassment or misogyny and misogynoir at the charity, as falsely claimed by the current chair.
'Despite all that, their report falls troublingly short in many regards, primarily the fact 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.
'Sentebale has been a deeply personal and transformative mission for Prince Harry, established to serve some of the most vulnerable children in Lesotho and Botswana.'
A spokesperson for Sentebale said they were pleased with the action plan offered by the commission, which would allow it to 'move forward … free from interference'.
Chandauka said: 'The unexpected adverse media campaign that was launched by those who resigned on 24 March 2025 has caused incalculable damage and offers a glimpse of the unacceptable behaviours displayed in private.
'We are emerging not just grateful to have survived, but stronger: more focused, better governed, boldly ambitious and with our dignity intact.
'Despite the recent turbulence, we will always be inspired by the vision of our founders, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, who established Sentebale in memory of their precious mothers, Princess Diana and Queen 'Mamohato.'