Prince Harry, once celebrated for his humanitarian efforts in southern Africa, now finds himself at the center of a high-profile legal battle with Sentebale, the very charity he co-founded nearly two decades ago. On March 24, 2026, Sentebale filed a defamation lawsuit against the Duke of Sussex and his longtime friend and former trustee, Mark Dyer, at the High Court in London. The charity alleges that Harry and Dyer orchestrated a coordinated adverse media campaign starting in March 2025 that has caused significant operational disruption and reputational harm to Sentebale, its leadership, and its strategic partners.
This dramatic turn comes after a series of internal disputes that erupted into the public eye last year. Sentebale, founded in 2006 by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to support young people living with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana, has long been associated with the legacy of Princess Diana. Yet, as reported by Sky News, Harry resigned as patron in March 2025 following a public falling-out with the charity’s chairperson, Dr. Sophie Chandauka. That resignation was not solitary: Prince Seeiso and the board of trustees also stepped down in solidarity with Harry, marking an unprecedented rupture at the charity’s highest levels.
According to court records and statements from Sentebale’s board of trustees and executive director, the charity is seeking the court’s “intervention, protection, and restitution” in response to what it calls “a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since March 25, 2025, that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners.” The statement further alleges that Harry and Dyer were “the architects of that adverse media campaign, which has had significant viral impact and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed at the charity and its leadership.” (The Independent)
Sentebale’s leadership claims that the media campaign involved the circulation of false narratives about the charity and its leaders, efforts to undermine relationships with staff and partners, and the forced diversion of resources to manage a reputational crisis. “Sentebale has experienced the adverse media campaign as false narratives circulated through the media about the charity and its leadership, attempts to undermine its relationships with staff, existing and prospective partners, and the forced diversion of leadership time and resources into managing a reputational crisis not of the charity’s making,” the board and executive director stated (Sky News).
The origins of the rift can be traced back to 2023, when trustees began planning a new fundraising strategy in the United States. Disagreements over financial strategy and management soon escalated. By the time the COVID-19 pandemic added further operational and financial stress, tensions reached a breaking point. Both sides have traded accusations, and the dispute quickly spilled into the public arena, drawing criticism from the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
The Charity Commission, after investigating the matter, released a statement in August 2025. The regulator found no evidence of “widespread or systemic bullying, harassment, misogyny or misogynoir” at Sentebale, but it did not spare either party from criticism. David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission, remarked, “Sentebale’s problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity’s reputation, risk overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardising the charity’s ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve.” (BBC)
Chandauka, for her part, described the breakdown as devastating. In a March 2025 interview with the Financial Times, she recounted how tensions flared when Harry’s team asked her to publicly defend Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, from negative media coverage. “I said no, we’re not setting a precedent by which we become an extension of the Sussex PR machine,” Chandauka said, highlighting how the conflict over the charity’s mission and public image became deeply personal and divisive.
When Harry and Seeiso resigned, they issued a joint statement: “With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees.” The sense of loss was palpable, with insiders telling Page Six that Harry and Seeiso could not envision returning to Sentebale while Chandauka remained chair. Harry himself described leaving the charity as “devastating,” especially after having donated £1.2 million from the profits of his memoir Spare to support Sentebale’s mission (BBC).
In the wake of the lawsuit, Sentebale has been quick to assure supporters that “no charitable funds have been used” to cover legal costs, emphasizing that all expenses are being met through external funding. The charity has also expressed gratitude to donors who have “stood firm alongside them” during this turbulent period (The Independent).
On the other side, a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Mark Dyer categorically rejected Sentebale’s allegations, telling Page Six: “It is extraordinary that charitable funds are now being used to pursue legal action against the very people who built and supported the organisation for nearly two decades, rather than being directed to the communities the charity was created to serve.” The spokesperson’s statement underscores the emotional and ethical complexity of the dispute, as both sides claim to act in the charity’s best interest.
As the legal battle unfolds, Sentebale’s board and executive director have called for the focus to return to the charity’s core mission: “The charity should not continue to use its resources to manage and address the damage this adverse media campaign has caused to its operations and partnerships. This must stop. The board and executive director have taken this legal action to secure that protection.” (The Independent)
The Charity Commission, meanwhile, has warned that the public airing of such disputes risks undermining trust not only in Sentebale but in the charitable sector more broadly. “The failure to resolve disputes internally severely impacted the charity’s reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally,” the Commission noted.
For now, Sentebale has stated it will not comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing. As the case moves through the courts, many will be watching closely—not just to see who prevails, but to gauge the lasting impact on Sentebale’s mission and the legacy of its royal founders.
After nearly two decades of shared purpose, the charity and its co-founder now face each other across a legal divide, with the future of their partnership—and perhaps the charity’s reputation—hanging in the balance.