What the charity is alleging
Sentebale, the southern Africa charity co-founded by the Duke of Sussex nearly two decades ago, has issued a sharply worded statement confirming that it has begun libel proceedings against Prince Harry and former trustee Mark Dyer in the High Court of England and Wales.
In a statement released by its Board of Trustees and executive director, the charity said it was seeking “the court’s intervention, protection, and restitution” following what it described as “a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since 25 March 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners”.
The Duke and Mr Dyer were named as those it considered to be, on the evidence it had gathered, “the architects of that adverse media campaign”, which it said had “had significant viral impact and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed at the charity and its leadership”.
Prince Harry has not so far responded publicly to the claims. GB News said it had approached the Duke’s representatives for comment.
Why the dispute has reached the courts
The legal action marks a significant escalation in a row that has been simmering in public for more than a year. According to the charity’s account, it has been forced to grapple with “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”.
Sentebale was at pains to stress that, despite the disruption, its institutional funders had “maintained 100 per cent of their financial commitment throughout this period”, and that individual donors had continued to give. That backing, it said, reflected “a shared conviction that good governance is fundamental to the integrity of any charitable organisation”.
The board argued that with international aid budgets shrinking and demand from children in the region rising, the charity could no longer afford to absorb the cost of fighting the dispute through the media. “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 statement said. It added that the legal costs were being covered “entirely by external funding” and that “no charitable funds have been used”.
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The trustees and executive director said they hoped supporters would “understand why this legal action, whilst difficult, was necessary and important”, insisting Sentebale’s attention remained on “the children and young people of Lesotho and Botswana”. The charity said it would not comment further while proceedings were under way.
A long-running rift inside a Royal-founded cause
The roots of the dispute reach back into 2025. Prince Harry, 41, co-founded Sentebale in 2006 to support young people affected by HIV and Aids in Lesotho and Botswana, and stepped down as patron in March 2025 following a very public falling-out with the chairwoman of the board, Dr Sophie Chandauka. The charity’s other co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, departed alongside the Duke, as did the wider board of trustees.
Dr Chandauka subsequently reported the Duke and the former trustees to the Charity Commission, alleging bullying and harassment. The regulator’s review found no evidence of bullying, but it was critical of the governance at the charity and rebuked all sides for allowing an internal disagreement to spill into public view.
A spokesman for Prince Harry said at the time that the Commission’s findings fell “troublingly short”, adding 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”. The board now says that 78,000 young lives depend on the work the charity continues to deliver across the region.
