Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso resigned as patrons of Sentebale in March 2025 to support trustees who had quit during a dispute with the charity’s chair, Sophie Chandauka. They said the relationship between the trustees and Chandauka had broken down beyond repair. A later Charity Commission inquiry identified governance failures that helped the conflict escalate, but found no evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment.
What happened at Sentebale?
Sentebale was founded in 2006 by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to support children and young people in southern Africa. Harry and Seeiso served as patrons, not trustees. Trustees held the charity’s legal responsibilities; the princes’ later resignations as patrons were connected to, but distinct from, the trustees’ departures.
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In March 2025, trustees resigned after asking chair Sophie Chandauka to step down. Harry and Seeiso then resigned as patrons in support of those trustees. Their joint statement said the relationship between the charity’s trustees and its chair had “broken down beyond repair,” creating an “untenable situation.” The Associated Press reported the statement.
What led to the breakdown?
Disagreement over strategy
The Charity Commission traced the strategic disagreements to 2023, when trustees sought to implement a new US fundraising strategy. The regulator said disagreements about the charity’s future followed, with post-pandemic strategic and financial difficulties adding to the strain. Concerns about relationships breaking down were first raised with the Commission in February 2025; it opened a regulatory compliance case in April.
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Different accounts of the dispute
Harry and Seeiso described their departure as support for trustees who had resigned after seeking Chandauka’s departure. Chandauka, in her public account at the time, said she had raised concerns about governance, management and abuse of power, as well as bullying, harassment, misogyny and misogynoir. Those were her allegations; the Commission’s later findings did not substantiate widespread or systemic bullying or harassment.
What did the Charity Commission find?
After reviewing evidence and interviewing parties, the Commission concluded that weaknesses in governance contributed to the dispute:
- Unclear authority: The process for delegating powers to the chair was confusing and poorly governed, and delegations were unclear over time.
- Weak internal processes: Trustees lacked proper policies and procedures for handling internal complaints. The Commission said the general lack of clear policies contributed to the failure to resolve disputes.
- A missed chance to intervene: The Commission said all the then-trustees contributed to a missed opportunity to resolve the issues.
It concluded that failures to clarify delegations and establish proper internal complaint processes amounted to mismanagement in the charity’s administration.
What the inquiry did—and did not—establish
The Commission found no evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir. It also found no evidence of overreach by Chandauka as chair or Harry as patron. That conclusion is narrower than a finding that no one experienced mistreatment: the regulator acknowledged that several parties strongly perceived ill-treatment and that it had personal effects.
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The Commission criticised all sides for allowing the dispute to play out publicly. It was not satisfied that public media statements and criticism in television interviews served Sentebale’s best interests, and said the public escalation had harmed the charity’s reputation and risked public trust. Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said the dispute risked “overshadowing its many achievements” and jeopardising the charity’s ability to serve its beneficiaries.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What action did the regulator require?
The Charity Commission issued Sentebale a Regulatory Action Plan calling for an internal dispute policy, stronger complaints and whistleblowing procedures, and clearer delegation of authority. At the time of its conclusion, the Commission said the charity had validly appointed trustees in place and that it was monitoring progress. The Commission’s 6 August 2025 announcement establishes those findings and requirements; it does not establish whether the plan was later completed or resolve any subsequent legal proceedings.
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