Prince Harry responds as charity watchdog criticises Duke and others in Sentebale report

An investigation into the leadership fallout at the Duke of Sussex’s charity, Sentebale, has found no evidence of alleged harassment or bullying within the organisation.

While a spokesman for Prince Harry said that these findings were “unsurprising,” the report had fallen “troublingly short in many regards”.

 The Charity Commission opened a compliance case earlier this year after Harry and his co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, stepped down from Sentebale after the relationship between the board of trustees and chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka “broke down beyond repair” after she was asked to resign.

 In her response, Dr Sophie Chandauka said she reported the trustees to the Charity Commission and had “blown the whistle” about issues including abuse of power, bullying, sexism and racism.

 In a statement, the Commission outlined it “found no evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity, but the Commission has acknowledged the strong perception of ill treatment felt by a number of parties to the dispute and the impact this may have had on them personally”.

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It also found no evidence of “‘over-reach’ by either the chair or the Duke of Sussex as patron, but the Commission is critical of the charity’s lack of clarity in delegations to the chair which allowed for misunderstandings to occur”.

Criticism over public dispute

 The report stated there was a “failure to clarify delegations within the charity to the chair, and the failure to have proper processes for internal complaints, both amount to mismanagement in the administration of the charity”.

The Commission recommended that the charity should have a “defined patron role set out in writing”.

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It identified a lack of clarity around roles, and that delegation of certain powers to the chair “was a confusing, convoluted and poorly governed process, with a lack of clearly defined delegations over time”. 

The report also criticised all parties to the dispute “for allowing it to play out publicly” and that the “trustees’ failure to resolve disputes internally severely impacted the charity’s reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally”. 

The Duke of Sussex’s statement in full

A spokesperson for Prince Harry said: “The Charity Commission has today announced its findings. Unsurprisingly, the Commission makes no findings of wrongdoing in relation to Sentebale’s Co-Founder and former Patron, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. They also found no evidence of widespread bullying, harassment or misogyny and misogynoir at the charity, as falsely claimed by the current Chair.

“Despite all that, their report falls troublingly short in many regards, primarily the fact that the consequences of the current Chair’s actions will not be borne by her – but by the children who rely on Sentebale’s support.

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“Sentebale has been a deeply personal and transformative mission for Prince Harry, established to serve some of the most vulnerable children in Lesotho and Botswana. For 19 years, its dedicated staff and steadfast supporters have provided vital care to over 100,000 young people across southern Africa, including young people living with HIV/AIDS and those facing mental health challenges.

 “As custodians of this once brilliant charity, Prince Seeiso, Prince Harry and the former Board of Trustees helped grow Sentebale from the seed of an idea to – like its namesake – a flowering force for good.

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“With the original mission of Sentebale firmly in mind – and in honour of the legacy he and Prince Seeiso began – The Duke of Sussex will now focus on finding new ways to continue supporting the children of Lesotho and Botswana.”

Dr Sophie Chandauka’s statement in full

Dr Sophie Chandauka MBE, Chair of Sentebale said: “I appreciate the Charity Commission for its conclusions which confirm the governance concerns I raised privately in February 2025. The experience was intense, and it became a test of our strategic clarity and operational resilience.

“We have continued to directly serve children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana with the steadfast support of long-standing funders, strategic partners, and community leaders. Our phenomenal team will directly serve more than 78,000 children and young people this year, matching or exceeding our impact in 2024 at a time of acute need in the region. 

“I thank every dedicated colleague and the courageous new Board members who have stayed focused on the mission in the face of unprecedented media glare. The unexpected adverse media campaign that was launched by those who resigned on 24 March 2025 has caused incalculable damage and offers a glimpse of the unacceptable behaviours displayed in private. 

“We are emerging not just grateful to have survived, but stronger: more focused, better governed, boldly ambitious and with our dignity intact. Despite the recent turbulence, we will always be inspired by the vision of our Founders, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, who established Sentebale in memory of their precious mothers, Princess Diana and Queen ‘Mamohato. To all who believe in our mission: please walk with us as Sentebale recovers, renews, and rises to meet the hopes and expectations of the next generation.”

What happens next?

The Charity Commission has issued a Regulatory Action Plan setting out steps the current trustees need to take, with recommendations to implement an internal dispute policy, improve the charity’s complaints and whistleblowing procedures, and establish clearer processes for delegating authority on behalf of the charity.  

In a statement, David Holdsworth, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, said: “Passion for a cause is the bedrock of volunteering and charity, delivering positive impact for millions of people here at home and abroad every day. However, in the rare cases when things go wrong, it is often because that very passion has become a weakness rather than a strength.

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“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.

“This case highlights what can happen when there are gaps in governance and policies critical to charities’ ability to deliver for their cause. As a result, we have issued the charity a Regulatory Action Plan to make needed improvements and rectify findings of mismanagement.

 “Moving forward I urge all parties not to lose sight of those who rely on the charity’s services. The current trustees must now make improvements and ensure the charity focuses on delivering for those it exists to serve.”