Prince Harry will step down from the charity he founded nearly 20 years ago after ‘unthinkable’ controversy from within, it has emerged.

Sentebale, which the Duke of Sussex co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesoth in 2006 to benefit African orphans, dedicates itself to tackling poverty and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana.

The royal travelled to Africa last year to support its work and in December proudly attended an event in New York. Harry co-founded Sentebale in memory of his late mother Princess Diana.

But now Harry has quit in solidarity with his co-founder and the entire board of trustees after ‘the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation’.

Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, was appointed to be chair of the board of trustees last year.

It’s reported the trustees were deeply unhappy with the decision and wanted her to step down, prompting her to sue.

The row seemingly stemmed from a decision to move its fundraising operation to Africa and several key figures then walked away from the organisation.

In a joint statement, which has been seen by The Times but not officially released, Harry and Prince Seeiso wrote: ‘What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this.’

Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and Prince Harry attend a welcome event at Sentebale’s Mamohato Children’s Centre in Lesotho last year

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex poses for a photo with members of the community during a visit with his charity in South Africa in October 2024

Board Chair Dr. Sophie Chandauka MBE, and Prince Harry at a a Sentebale reception and panel discussion at The Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa in October last year

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Ntoli Moletsane, Country Director, Lesotho arrive at a special Sentebale event to visit the Pointmain Health Facility on October 2, 2024

‘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.’

The statement continued: ‘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.’

Prince Harry sided with the trustees in the statement, saying they ‘acted in the best interest’ in asking Chandauka to step down.

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

The former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West all said they made the ‘difficult decision to unanimously resign’ but are ‘deeply proud to have supported the visionary work of the founding patrons Prince Seeiso and Prince Harry’.

Nacho Figueras, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, Chair of Sentebale, Prince Harry, and Richard Miller, pictured in April 2024

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho visit a special Sentebale event to meet adolescent girls and young women in Lesotho last year

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho arrive at a special Sentebale event to visit the Pointmain Health Facility on October 2, 2024

‘Today’s decision is nothing short of devastating for all of us, but we see no other path forward as the result of our loss in trust and confidence in the chair of the board,’ it read.

‘Our priority has always been, and will always be, what’s in the best interest of the charity, and it’s desperately sad the breakdown in relationship escalated to a lawsuit by the chair against the charity, to block us from voting her out after our request for her resignation was rejected.

‘We could not in good conscience allow Sentebale to undertake that legal and financial burden and have been left with no other option but to vacate our positions.

‘This was not a choice willingly made, but rather something we felt forced into in order to look after the charity.’

Chandauka has refused to step down, forcing the resignation of the charity’s trustees including Mark Dyer, who is a lifelong friend of Prince Harry.

A spokesman for Sentebale said that the charity had not received notice of the Prince’s resignation.

Prince arrives at a visit to Matlameng in the Leribe region with Sentebale last year

Prince Seeiso of Lesotho on a visit in South Africa with the charity and the prince last year

Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and and Dr. Sophie Chandauka are pictured with Prince Harry in 2024

A Charity Commission spokesperson told the Mail: ‘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’.

It follows Richard Miller quitting as chief executive of Sentabale after five years in the role.

And his departure follows that of Baroness Chalker, the overseas development minister, who stepped down as a director the month before.

It was the latest blow for the Duke of Sussex’s organisation, which also lost advertising king Johnny Hornby. He stood down after 11 years as a trustee, five of which he spent as chairman.

The Mail on Sunday later disclosed that Andrew Tucker, whom Harry affectionately calls ‘Tucks’, had stepped down from his senior position at Sentebale after almost a decade.

A spokesman for Sentebale said it carried out a ‘restructuring’ of its board as ‘confirmation of its strategy to redeploy senior roles to be proximate to most of the team and programmes in southern Africa’.

‘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.’