Why Is Prince Harry Being Sued By His Former Charity?

Prince Harry is being sued for defamation, libel and slander by Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in 2006. Mark Dyer, a former trustee of the organization and longtime friend of the Duke of Sussex, is also named in the suit.

The charity was founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 as a tribute to both princes’ late mothers. Sentebale, which means forget-me-not in the Southern African nation of Lesotho’s local language, serves the needs of children in the regions of Lesotho and Botswana, many of whom have been diagnosed with HIV and AIDs. (Lesotho has the second-highest rate of childhood HIV and AIDs in the world.)

The organization, which supports nearly 80,000 children, released a statement about the suit on its website.

The statement alleges the Duke and Dyer are “architects” of an “adverse media campaign” that’s been waged against the charity and its leadership.

A spokesperson for both the Prince and Dyer told the Associated Press they “categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims”.

The backstory

The lawsuit follows from a protracted spat that's played out publicly between the Prince, the organization's trustees and Sentebale’s chair, Sophie Chandauka, over the past couple of years.

In an interview with Sky News last year, Chandauka suggested the trouble started in 2023 when she raised concerns about the negative effect Prince Harry’s departure from the Royal family in January 2020 had on the charity’s donations. It’s been reported that she sought to divert the organization’s approach to funding away from a reliance on the Prince and his friends and hired a consultant to aid in that process.

When the expense incurred for the advice of the strategist didn’t translate into higher donations, the board reportedly asked Chandauka to step down.  

She refused and at some point made a bullying and harassment complaint to the UK Charity Commission, which acts as a regulator on the sector.

A viral polo incident

An awkward photo call during Sentebale’s charity polo match, which was held in Miami in 2024, likely didn’t help matters. During the trophy presentation, Chandauka and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, appeared tense as they negotiated their movements around Harry, with Markle insisting Chandauka stand beside her instead of the Duke.

The uncomfortable exchange between the two women, which was captured on video, went viral.

Chandauka says Prince Harry later asked her to issue a statement in support of Markle—a request she denied.

“We can’t be an extension of the Sussex PR machine,” she told Sky News.  

Sources close to the couple denied her characterization of the incident as “highly misleading.”

The breaking point

In March 2025, Prince Harry, Prince Leesio and the trustees formally broke with Sentebale for good.  

“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,” Harry and Seeiso said in a joint statement that announced their departures.

In April that year, the Charity Commission launched a regulatory compliance investigation  into Chandauka’s claims as well as her bullying, sexism and racism concerns. A couple of months later, the watchdog completed its investigation, finding “a lack of clarity around role descriptions and internal policies as the primary cause for weaknesses in the charity’s management.”

It did not find evidence of bullying, harassment, racism or misogyny. But it did find fault with “all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly.”

The UK regulator recommended that there be clearer defined roles and responsibilities going forward, especially for patrons, and an internal policy for mediating disputes.

It's not yet clear how the lawsuit, which was filed in London, will play out. But the timing of the suit may cast a bit of a dark cloud over Harry and Meghan’s planned tour of Australia. The pair will arrive Down Under on April 14 for a four-day visit that will see both headline separate paid appearances. During his keynote speech for a professional development event, the Prince is expected to discuss "workplace mental health."