Prince Harry introduced on March 25 that he had stepped down as a patron of Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in reminiscence of his mom, after a monthslong dispute between the charity’s chair and the board of trustees broke into the open.
Harry and his fellow co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, stated that they had give up in solidarity with 5 board members who had resigned over a dispute with the chair, Sophie Chandauka.
Each Ms. Chandauka and the group of former trustees have made allegations of wrongdoing towards one another, and each events stated that they had submitted claims and proof of their arguments to Britain’s Charity Fee.
Right here’s what we all know.
Why did Prince Harry resign from the charity?
Harry based the charity with Prince Seeiso in 2006. In latest months, the group’s management has been at loggerheads. The 5 trustees who resigned — Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West — stated in a joint assertion that that they had referred to as on the board’s chair, Ms. Chandauka, to resign from her place, after shedding “belief and confidence” in her.
They stated that Ms. Chandauka, who was appointed in 2023, responded by submitting a lawsuit in Britain “to dam us from voting her out,” and that they had been resigning to keep away from burdening the charity with the price of the swimsuit.
“We couldn’t in good conscience enable Sentebale to undertake that authorized and monetary burden and have been left with no different choice however to vacate our positions,” the previous trustees stated of their assertion. “This was not a alternative willingly made, however reasonably one thing we felt pressured into with a purpose to take care of the charity.”
Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso stated of their assertion that the previous trustees had “acted in one of the best curiosity of the charity in asking the chair to step down.” They added: “What’s transpired is unthinkable. We’re in shock that we’ve got to do that, however we’ve got a continued accountability to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we can be sharing all of our issues with the Charity Fee as to how this took place.”
What are Ms. Chandauka’s accusations towards the previous trustees and Prince Harry?
Ms. Chandauka stated in an announcement concerning the former trustees that she had acted to reveal what she described as “problems with poor governance, weak govt administration, abuse of energy, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir and the coverup that ensued.” (Misogynoir is a time period referring to pointed sexism towards Black girls.) Along with submitting a case in an English court docket, she stated, she had reported the trustees to Britain’s Charity Fee.
After the 5 trustees stepped down, Ms. Chandauka instantly appointed 4 new trustees.
In interviews with the British information media, Ms. Chandauka has since accused the prince of participating in harassment and bullying to attempt to pressure her out of her submit. A spokesman for Harry declined to touch upon her newest claims.
Regardless of her allegations, Ms. Chandauka stated her relationship with Harry had been “improbable, truly.” However she stated, “There are some people on the board who thought they may get away with mistreating a lady.”
What’s Sentebale?
Harry established Sentebale with Prince Seeiso, the youthful brother of King Letsie III of Lesotho, in 2006. Based in honor of Harry’s mom, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Seeiso’s mom, the charity raised funds for communities affected by the H.I.V. pandemic in Lesotho, a small landlocked kingdom that is without doubt one of the world’s poorest international locations. In 2019, it expanded its work into close by Botswana, and to addressing substance abuse, gender-based violence and different social ills amongst younger individuals.
What occurs subsequent?
Either side have filed claims of wrongdoing with Britain’s Charity Fee, which regulates charities in England and Wales. Though Sentebale operates in southern Africa, it’s registered in Britain.
A spokeswoman for the Charity Fee stated that the regulator was “assessing the problems to find out the suitable regulatory steps.”
