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‘Caused reputational damage’: Prince Harry sued by a charity he co-founded in Princess Diana’s memory
Prince Harry and his associate Mark Dyer are being sued for either libel or slander by Africa-based charity foundation, Sentebale.
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in Africa to honour his late mother, Princess Diana, has reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against him after he stepped down as its patron last year.
Sentebale, which works with young people living with HIV in Botswana and Lesotho, moved the high court of justice in London last month, according to court records reviewed on Friday by the Associated Press.
Online filings cited in AP report indicate that Harry and his associate Mark Dyer are being sued for either libel or slander, though detailed documents are not publicly available.
What the charity said
At the heart of the dispute is an alleged media campaign that the charity claims damaged its reputation and disrupted its operations.
In a statement posted on its website, the charity said, It "seeks the court's intervention, protection, and restitution following a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since March 25, 2025, that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners."
A spokesperson for Harry and Dyer said the pair "categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims".
Sentebale leadership fallout
Harry co-founded Sentebale nearly two decades ago with Prince Seeiso. The name means “forget me not” in the language of Lesotho and was chosen to honour Princess Diana’s legacy, particularly her advocacy for HIV and AIDS awareness.
Trouble within the organisation began surfacing in 2023, reportedly over disagreements around a new fundraising strategy. The tensions escalated, and both founders stepped down as patrons in March 2025 in solidarity with trustees who had resigned.
At the time, they said the relationship between the board and its chair, Sophie Chandauka, had broken down beyond repair. Chandauka, however, later accused Harry of orchestrating a campaign of bullying and harassment to push her out.
Public dispute
As the fallout became increasingly public, Chandauka told Sky News that filming for one of Harry’s Netflix projects had clashed with a scheduled Sentebale fundraiser. She also pointed to an incident involving Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, as another source of tension.
The Charity Commission for England and Wales later examined the dispute. While it criticised both sides for allowing the conflict to spill into the public domain and harm the charity’s reputation, it said there was no evidence of widespread bullying or misogyny, AP reported.
"Sentebale's problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity's reputation, risk overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardising the charity's ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve," commission CEO David Holdsworth said in a statement last August.
The lawsuit places Harry in the unusual position of being a defendant in the High Court. This marks a shift from his recent legal battles, where he has largely been a claimant pursuing privacy cases against British tabloids over phone hacking and unlawful surveillance.
(With AP inputs)
