Charities regulator reprimands Prince Harry's former HIV-AIDS charity
The Charity Commission's report into allegations against Sentabale by a whistleblower criticized all parties involved for allowing a bitter boardroom dispute to play out publicly, saying that the charity's reputation had been "severely impacted" with a knock-on threat to public trust in the charity sector.
The regulator said in a news release that it had issued Sentabale with a Regulatory Action Plan to address governance weaknesses after finding a "lack of clarity around role descriptions and internal policies as the primary cause for weaknesses in the charity's management."
It said it had concluded that this situation had exacerbated tensions, culminating in a dispute and resignations of trustees and co-founders Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, almost two decades after Harry set up the charity in memory of his mother, Princess Diana.
The commission said the dispute, dating back to 2023 when the Sentabale board was implementing new fundraising strategy in the United States, was between trustees, chair of trustees Sophie Chandauka and Prince Harry, both of whom were accused of throwing their weight around.
A spokesman for Prince Harry rejected parts of the report, calling them "troublingly short", while the Chandauka said an "adverse media campaign" waged by the parties that had quit had inflicted "incalculable damage."
Acknowleding what it said strong feelings of ill treatment felt by those involved in the dispute and the personal impact of them, the commission said it had found no evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny directed at women regardless of color, or overreach by Harry and Chandauka.
However, it said a lack of transparency in delegating certain powers to the chair fed into misunderstandings and that, along with a lack of formal procedures to deal with complaints, constituted mismanagement.
"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," said Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth.
Among the recommendations, the commission said the charity must establish an internal dispute policy, improve complaints and whistleblowing processes, establish clearer delegation rules and ensure trustees secure adequate funding to deliver for those it aimed to help.
In the future, it also expected Sentabale to have writen job description that clearly set out the role of its patron and to improve public-facing discipline to ensure its interactions with the media always put charity's best interests front and center.
The Charity Commission said it would be keeping Sentabale under review to ensure it implemented the action plan in full.
"Moving forward I urge all parties not to lose sight of those who rely on the charity's services. The current trustees must now make improvements and ensure the charity focuses on delivering for those it exists to serve," Holdsworth said.
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