Sentebale has accused it’s co-founder Prince Harry of launching a ‘co-ordinated adverse media campaign’ which caused ‘operational disruption and reputational harm’ after filing a defamation action against him.
The charity, which helps young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana, has launched a High Court lawsuit for libel and slander against the Duke of Sussex and his friend and former royal equerry Mark Dyer.
In a message issued by Sentebale’s Board of Trustees and Executive Director, the charity claimed it had been subject to a ‘coordinated adverse media campaign’ conducted since March 25 last year.
Sentebale said this caused ‘operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners’ and also ‘had significant viral impact and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed at the charity and its leadership’.
The campaign supposedly involved the circulation of ‘false narratives’ through the media, attempts to ‘undermine’ its relationships with staff and partners and forced a ‘diversion of leadership time and resources into managing a reputational crisis not of the charity’s making’.
Sentebale said it decided to take legal action to secure the protection of its operations and partnerships, adding the ‘costs of doing so are met entirely by external funding and no charitable funds have been used’.
Harry responded to the allegations in a statement issued by a spokesperson on behalf of him and Mr Dyer. It said: ‘As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims.’
Prince Harry speaks at an event with Sophie Chandauka in happier times
Prince Harry founded Sentebale in 2006 in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana
Harry alongside former Royal Equerry Mark Dyer during the Sentebale Concert at Kensington Palace in 2016
Harry dramatically quit the charity’s board last year following a bitter public feud with chairwoman Sophie Chandauka, whose leadership he described as ‘untenable’.
Sentebale, which means ‘forget-me-not’ in the language of Lesotho, southern Africa, was co-founded by the prince in 2006. It has faced a funding crisis since his departure a year ago.
The row with Ms Chandauka began in 2024 when the Sentebale board challenged her over a £400,000 bill for consultants they said had brought little return.
She was asked to step down but instead complained to the Charity Commission, alleging bullying, misogyny and racism.
She accused the the duke of trying to ‘eject’ her through ‘bullying’ and ‘harassment’, which he denies.
After a probe, it found no evidence of bullying, but said there had been weak governance and criticised all parties for allowing an internal dispute to become public.
In March 2025, the trustees resigned en masse, blaming Ms Chandauka’s ‘almost dictatorial’ leadership. Harry and his co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, resigned as patrons, calling the situation ‘untenable’.
The 41-year-old prince later called the breakdown in the relationship with Ms Chandauka ‘devastating’ and criticised her leadership, saying the consequences ‘will not be borne by her, but by the children who rely on Sentebale’s support’.
Public court records gave no details about the allegations in the lawsuit against Harry and Mr Dyer, who was also a trustee of the charity.
The charity recently slashed staff in the UK and Botswana in a bid to save £1million.
In August last year, four of the five employees based in the organisation’s London office were made redundant, including its global head of finance and compliance.
Sources claim one in five staff in Botswana were also laid off, including the country director Ketlogetswe Montshiwa, and staff said they feared there was a ‘significant cash flow problem’.
Published accounts show Sentebale ran through almost all its reserves as the row deepened in 2024. Monthly income fell by a quarter and the amount of cash in the bank fell from 1.5million to £207,000 by December 2024.