Prince Harry sued for libel by his former charity
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana, from whom he resigned following a high-profile dispute, is suing the royal for libel in the High Court in London, court records show.
King Charles’ younger son Harry founded Sentebale in 2006 to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana, but resigned as patron in March 2025 following a public dispute with chief executive Sophie Chandauka.
Sentebale filed a defamation lawsuit in the High Court last month against Harry and one of his close friends, Mark Dyer, who is also a trustee of the charity, according to a record made public on Friday.
The charity said it had sought “intervention, protection and redress” from the court following a “negative media campaign” since last March that “caused operational disruption and reputational damage to the charity, its leaders and strategic partners”.
“Prosecutions have been brought against Prince Harry and Mark Dyer, who have been identified through evidence as the architects of this negative media campaign, which created a significant viral impact and triggered a cyberbullying attack against the charity and its leaders,” the charity said in a statement. The statement was included.
Harry’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charity’s co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, and its then-trustees also joined Harry in leaving Sentebale, which he helped set up nine years after Diana died in a car crash in Paris and means “don’t forget me” in Lesotho’s local language.
During a public backlash last year, Chandauka reported him and his trustees to the UK’s charity regulator over allegations of bullying and harassment.
The 41-year-old prince said what happened was “heartbreaking” and that “blatant lies are damaging to those who have invested decades to support children in South Africa.”
Following a review, the Charity Commission said in August it had found no evidence of bullying but said management was weak and criticized all parties for allowing an internal dispute to become public.
