ROYALS'Shocked' Prince Harry Resigns From Sentebale After Chair of the Board Reported Charity's 'Abuse of Power': 'It's Devastating'
Prince Harry has stepped down as patron of Sentebale.
Prince Harry is "devastated" after resigning as patron of Sentebale, the charity he created in 2006 to help young people in southern Africa affected by HIV and AIDS.
On Tuesday, March 25, the Duke of Sussex and his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho announced they were stepping down from their roles within the charity in solidarity with several trustees' exits amid friction with Sentebale's chair of the board, Dr. Sophie Chandauka.
Prince Harry founded Sentebale alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.
"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 expressed in a statement obtained by multiple British news publications. "These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship."
Harry, 40, and Seeiso, 58, continued: "We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act."
Prince Harry resigned in solidarity with several trustees.
"What’s transpired is unthinkable," they admitted. "We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about."
The trustees who resigned on Tuesday included Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West — who all released a joint statement, calling their decision "nothing short of devastating" after being left with no choice due to a loss in "trust and confidence in the chair of the board."
The prince said he was 'devastated' to have to leave his charity behind.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
"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," their message read.
The former trustees noted: "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."
Tensions arose after Chandauka was appointed chair in July 2023. She recently reported the charity to the U.K. Charity Commission, claiming the organization engaged in "poor governance … abuse of power, bullying [and] harassment."
In her own statement to Us Weekly on Wednesday, March 25, Chandauka declared, "Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organization, its mission, and the young people we serve. My actions are guided by the principles of fairness and equitable treatment for all, regardless of social status or financial means."
Prince Harry resigned amid tensions between trustees and the chair of the board, Dr. Sophie Chandauka.
"There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct," she snubbed, seemingly shading Harry, Seeiso and the ex-trustees.
"Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the chair of the board report her own trustees to the Charity Commission? Why would the high court of England and Wales hear her case and issue an emergency injunction to prevent the same trustees from removing her as the chair of the board?" Chandauka added.
Answering her own question, she concluded: "Well, because beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir — and the coverup that ensued."
The Times of London, Guardian and the BBC received statements from Harry and Seeiso.
