Prince Harry is facing another legal battle as the Duke of Sussex is being sued for defamation by Sentebale, a charity that he co-founded back in 2006.
A court filing that was made public on Friday showed that the charity, which was founded to fight HIV/AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana, lodged a defamation claim against the royal last month in the High Court. It’s not yet been confirmed whether Harry is facing a libel or a slander lawsuit.
No further details about what the lawsuit will entail have yet been released, but Harry isn’t the only one being sued, as Mark Dyer, who was a former trustee of the charity and former equerry to King Charles, has also been named in the action.
Harry’s Sentebale departure
Last March, Harry confirmed that he was resigning from the charity that he co-founded with Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso following an “unthinkable” controversy within the organisation.
In a joint statement released at the time, the pair said their resignation came as the “relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation”.
In their joint statement, the royal pair said: “Nearly twenty years ago, we founded Sentebale in honour of our mothers. Sentebale means ‘forget-me-not’ in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho, and it’s what we’ve always promised for the young people we’ve served through this charity.
“Today is no different. With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation.”
In response, Dr Sophie Chandauka, the chairwoman of the board, said: “Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organisation, its mission, and the young people we serve. My actions are guided by the principles of fairness and equitable treatment for all, regardless of social status or financial means. 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.
“Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir – and the coverup that ensued. I could be anyone. I just happen to be an educated woman who understands that the law will guide and protect me. I will say nothing further on this matter at this time.”
Last August, the Charity Commission published the findings of its investigation into Sentebale after Dr Sophie reported the trustees after alleging issues, including abuse of power, bullying, sexism and racism.
In a statement, the Commission outlined it “found no evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity, but the Commission has acknowledged the strong perception of ill treatment felt by a number of parties to the dispute and the impact this may have had on them personally”.
© Getty Images for SentebaleIt also found no evidence of “‘over-reach’ by either the chair or the Duke of Sussex as patron, but the Commission is critical of the charity’s lack of clarity in delegations to the chair which allowed for misunderstandings to occur”.
A spokesperson for Harry said at the time: “The Charity Commission has today announced its findings. Unsurprisingly, the Commission makes no findings of wrongdoing in relation to Sentebale’s Co-Founder and former Patron, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. They also found no evidence of widespread bullying, harassment or misogyny and misogynoir at the charity, as falsely claimed by the current Chair.”
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