The UK’s charity regulator has said it has found no evidence that Prince Harry engaged in harassment in connection with a scandal involving the African charity he co-founded, Sentebale. However, the commission has strongly criticised all parties involved for taking the internal dispute public and damaging the foundation’s reputation.

The charity was embroiled in a bitter board row in March and April after chairwoman Sophie Chandauka publicly accused Prince Harry of “harassment”. Days earlier, Harry and his founding partner, Prince Seiso of Lesotho, announced they were stepping down from the board after trustees resigned in response to Chandauka’s refusal to step down.

Harry, also known as the Duke of Sussex, set up Sentebale in 2006 in memory of his mother, Princess Diana, to help young people living with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and later Botswana.

After a months-long investigation, the Charity Commission concluded that there was no evidence of systemic abuse, including sexism or racial discrimination, within the organisation. However, the body criticised all parties to the conflict for allowing a “destructive internal dispute” to spill over into the public domain, causing serious damage to the foundation’s reputation.

The report also said there had been a “lack of clarity in the allocation of responsibilities” which had led to “poor management of the organisation’s administrative activities”. The commission has set out a plan to address the weaknesses in governance.

Sentebale welcomed the commission’s findings in a statement. Chandauka, who was appointed chairwoman on a voluntary basis in 2023 and still holds the position, said she “appreciated the findings” as they confirmed the governance issues she had raised privately in February 2025. However, her statement did not address the fact that allegations of systemic harassment had been dismissed.

In April, Hari said the incident was “devastating to watch, especially when such blatant lies hurt people who have dedicated decades to a common cause.” | BGNES, AFP