Prince Harry has been criticised by the Charity Fee for letting a “damaging” boardroom battle play out within the “public eye” and hurt the status of an excellent trigger co-founded by himself.
The charity regulator investigated Sentebale after founders – the Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso – stepped down as its patrons in help of a bunch of trustees, who resigned following a dispute with board of trustees chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka.
The watchdog criticised all events within the fallout for permitting it to play out publicly and described how all trustees contributed to a “missed alternative” to resolve the problems that that led to the intense disagreement that risked undermining public belief in charities typically.
What was the controversy?
Sentebale’s chair Dr Sophie Chandauka publicly accused Prince Harry of harassment and bullying after he resigned with co-founder Prince Seeiso.
The fallout got here after Sentebale’s trustees sought in 2023 to introduce a brand new fundraising technique, with the dispute arising between Dr Chandauka and a few of the trustees and Harry, stated the regulator.
A disagreement adopted the resignations with Harry and Seeiso issuing a joint assertion in March, describing their resolution as “unthinkable”, including the trustees “acted in the perfect curiosity of the charity in asking the chair to step down” whereas “in flip, she sued the charity to stay on this voluntary place, additional underscoring the damaged relationship.”
Dr Chandauka hit again in a tv interview accusing the Duke of being “concerned” in a “cover-up” of an investigation about bullying, harassment and misogyny on the organisation and stated the “toxicity” of his model had impacted the charity which had seen a drop in donors since Harry moved to the US.
Dr Chandauka stated: “The surprising opposed media marketing campaign that was launched by those that resigned on 24 March 2025 has induced incalculable harm and affords a glimpse of the unacceptable behaviours displayed in non-public.”
Harry’s spokesperson attacked the findings, saying the report “falls troublingly brief in lots of regards, primarily the truth that the implications of the present chair’s actions is not going to be borne by her – however by the youngsters who depend on Sentebale’s help.”
What had been the important thing findings?
The regulator criticised all events
The regulator has criticised all events concerned within the dispute for permitting it to play out publicly.
The Charity Fee report stated: “The then trustees’ failure to resolve disputes internally severely impacted the charity’s status and risked undermining public belief in charities extra typically.
“It was not glad that public statements made to the media and public criticism made in tv interviews, had been carried out in a means that served the charity’s finest pursuits.”
No findings of bullying or harassment
The investigation discovered no widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, together with misogyny or misogynoir on the charity.
The Fee has acknowledged the robust notion of unwell remedy felt by a lot of events to the dispute and the influence this will likely have had on them personally.
Points with delegations of powers to the chair
The Fee raised considerations in regards to the delegation of sure powers to the chair, together with consideration of an ‘govt chair’ position, deeming it a complicated, convoluted and poorly ruled course of, with an absence of clearly outlined delegations over time.
Administrative failures and mismanagement inside the charity
The then trustees didn’t have correct processes and insurance policies in place to analyze inside complaints.
Extra typically, an absence of clear insurance policies contributed to the failure to resolve disputes.
The Charity Fee has issued a Regulatory Motion Plan setting out steps the present trustees have to take, together with to implement an inside dispute coverage, enhance the charity’s complaints and whistleblowing procedures, and set up clearer processes for delegating authority on behalf of the charity.
The regulator will monitor the charity’s progress towards the Regulatory Motion Plan.
The plan units out the significance of the trustees securing adequate funding to allow the charity to ship for its beneficiaries.
The regulator urged trustees of all charities to not lose sight of their charity’s finest pursuits and the necessary work they do for these in want when disagreements or tensions come up.
David Holdsworth, Chief Govt of the Charity Fee, stated: “Ardour for a trigger is the bedrock of volunteering and charity, delivering optimistic influence for hundreds of thousands of individuals right here at house and overseas day-after-day.
“Nonetheless, within the uncommon circumstances when issues go improper, it is actually because that very ardour has turn into a weak point relatively than a energy.
“This case highlights what can occur when there are gaps in governance and insurance policies essential to charities’ capacity to ship for his or her trigger.”
