Harry’s ‘toxic brand’ impacted charity he founded in honour of Diana, says chair

The chairwoman of a charity set up by the Duke of Sussex has criticised the “toxicity” of his ”brand” and its alleged impact on the organisation.

Harry announced, earlier this week, he had quit as patron for Sentebale, the charity he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, amid a boardroom battle within the organisation.

The charity was set up in honour of the duke’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, to help young people and children in southern Africa, particularly those living with HIV and Aids.

Announcing their resignation in a joint statement, Harry and Prince Seeiso said they had stepped back until further notice, adding it was “devastating” that the relationship between Sentebale’s trustees and chairwoman of the board “broke down beyond repair”.

The move came as several trustees left the organisation in a dispute with chairwoman Sophie Chandauka, having requested her resignation.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Chandauka, who has been chairwoman of Sentebale since 2023, defended her record at the charity and claimed she had experienced “disrespect, bullying and intimidation” and “misogyny and misogynoir” in her role.

Of the duke, she said: “The number one risk for this organisation was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand.”

Elsewhere in the interview, she claimed public sentiment around Harry since he moved to the US, as well as media coverage following the release of a 2022 Netflix documentary about his relationship with the Duchess of Sussex and his 2023 autobiography Spare, had impacted the charity’s ability to reach new donors and hire senior staff.

“When you start to interview people, they’re asking questions about, well, these mixed messages around the patron,” Ms Chandauka added.

According to The Times newspaper, the dispute among trustees and the chair arose around a decision to focus fundraising in Africa.

Former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi, and Damian West released a statement saying their decision to resign was “devastating” but was the “result of our loss in trust and confidence in the chair of the board”.

In their joint statement on Tuesday, the duke and Prince Seeiso said they had stepped down “in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same”.

In response, Ms Chandauka appeared to criticise the duke for going to the press and “playing the victim card” in a statement earlier this week.

“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 said.

In a separate interview on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Ms Chandauka criticised the manner of Harry’s resignation.

She said: “The only reason I’m here, Trevor, is because at some point on Tuesday, Prince Harry authorised the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world without informing me or my country directors, or my executive director.

“And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organisations and their family?

“That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale.”

A source close to the trustees and patrons dismissed Ms Chandauka’s interviews as a “publicity stunt”, adding: “They remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth.”

The Charity Commission said it is “aware of concerns about the governance” of Sentebale in a statement earlier this week.

“We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps,” the commission added.

Aged 19, Harry’s two-month trip to the kingdom of Lesotho during his gap year in 2004, inspired him to establish the charity two years later, which now also operates in Botswana.

He came face-to-face with Aids orphans, met other traumatised young people and visited herd boys living a harsh existence looking after cattle in remote mountain areas.

The duke and Sentebale have been approached for comment.