Prince Harry resigns from AIDS charity he founded in honor of Princess Diana

Prince Harry has resigned from his role as a patron to Sentebale — a charity he co-founded in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana.

The 40-year-old Duke of Sussex announced the “devastating” decision in a joint statement, shared by People, with his friend Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who he founded the charity with nearly 20 years ago.

In the statement, Harry and Seeiso accused Sophie Chandauka — Sentebale’s chair of the board — of “unthinkable” acts that severed the relationship between her and the charity’s trustees.

“What’s transpired is unthinkable,” the two princes wrote in their statement. “We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries.”

Sentebale provides “support for children and young people, including those living with HIV/AIDS” in Lesotho and Botswana, according to the charity’s website.

Harry and Seeiso founded Sentebale in 2006 in honor of their late mothers, who were committed to helping young people out of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

“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 princes wrote in the statement.

“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,” they continued.

Their decision to step down as patrons was made in solidarity with the charity’s trustees, who have also resigned from their roles, per CNN.

“These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down while keeping the well-being of staff in mind,” Harry and Seeiso added in their statement, according to People.

According to the BBC, several trustees described their decision as “nothing short of devastating,” adding that they didn’t have a choice after Chandauka blocked them from removing her as chair of the board.

“In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship,” the princes’ statement continued.

Harry and Seeiso confirmed that they would cooperate with the ongoing investigation spearheaded by the UK’s Charity Commission.

“Although we may no longer be patrons, we will always be its founders, and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care,” Harry and Seeiso concluded.

In a statement shared by People, the Charity Commission confirmed that it’s aware of the concerns surrounding the governance of Sentebale and that it is in the process of “assessing the issues.”

Chandauka, who was appointed to her role in 2024, also released a statement, shared by the BBC.

Without naming names, she accused the charity of “poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny (and) misogynoir,” per the statement.

Chandauka added that she would not be stepping down as Chair of the Board and looks forward to continuing the charity’s mission to help young people in Africa.

In a separate statement shared by People, Sentebale confirmed the restructuring of their board of trustees and promised to “introduce experts with the capabilities and networks to accelerate Sentebale’s transformation agenda.”

According to the outlet, Harry last visited Lesotho in October and has helped raise more than $10 million for Sentebale over the past decade.