Prince Harry sued for defamation by charity he set up

A charity co‑founded by Prince Harry in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana, has filed a libel lawsuit against the British royal following a high‑profile dispute that led to his departure from the organization, court records showed Friday.

Prince Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, co‑founded Sentebale in 2006 to support young people affected by HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana. He resigned as a patron in March 2025 after a public falling‑out with the charity’s chair, Sophie Chandauka.

According to court filings made public Friday, Sentebale lodged a defamation claim last month at the High Court in London against Harry and Mark Dyer, a longtime friend of the prince and a former trustee of the charity. The filings did not disclose details of the alleged defamatory statements.

Spokespeople for Harry and Sentebale did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, Sentebale’s co‑founder, and the charity’s board of trustees resigned alongside Harry amid the dispute. The organization was established nine years after Princess Diana died in a 1997 car crash in Paris. Its name means “forget‑me‑not” in the Sesotho language.

Harry described the breakdown in relations with Chandauka as devastating. Chandauka, meanwhile, reported Harry and the trustees to Britain’s Charity Commission, alleging bullying and harassment.

Following a review, the commission said it found no evidence of bullying but identified weaknesses in governance and criticized all sides for allowing the internal conflict to spill into public view.

This is a breaking news article. Updates to follow.