Britain's Prince Harry, right, flanked by Lesotho's Prince Seeiso, acknowledges the crowd as Coldplay perform at the end of the finale performance of an outdoor concert hosted by the princes' charity Sentebale, in Kensington Palace Gardens, in London, in a June 28, 2016 file photo. Matt Dunham/AP

Prince Harry has stepped down as a patron of Sentebale, a charity he co-founded in 2006 that was long aimed at helping children in southern Africa who have HIV/AIDS. The British royal said he was in a state of "shock" over having to abandon the charity he helped establish in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana. In the local language of Lesotho, where the charity is based, Sentebale means "forget-me-not."

The British royal and his Sentebale co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, said they were stepping down as patrons of the charity in solidarity with five trustees who resigned over an internal dispute that has broken into public view. At the center of the standoff is the organization's chairwoman, who had been asked to step down but refused, reportedly over a change in Sentebale's mission.

"With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same," said Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Prince Seeiso in a joint statement.

"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," they said. "What's transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale's beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about."

Sentebale's chairwoman Sophie Chandauka has defended her work and leveled a string of allegations against her colleagues, without naming any.

"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," said Chandauka, a corporate finance lawyer who served on the Sentebale board between 2009 and 2015 before becoming its chair.

She said hers was 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 (discrimination against black women) — and the coverup that ensued."

In April 2024, Sentebale announced a shift in its mission from supporting children impacted by HIV/AIDS in the Kingdom of Lesotho and nearby Botswana, to "addressing issues of youth health, wealth and climate resilience in Southern Africa."

"The recalibration of the Board is, therefore, part of Sentebale's ambitious transformation agenda," the charity said at the time.

The U.K. Charity Commission said it was "aware of concerns" over Sentebale's governance, adding: "We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps."

Sentebale has stood at the core of Prince Harry's public image since his early 20's. It was seen in those early days as an attempt to revamp his image as a scandal-prone playboy.

With his separation from the Sentebale, Harry remains a patron of just a few charities following his very public stepping down as a working member of Britain's royal family in 2021. Prior to that schism, he served as a patron of 16 organizations, supporting a wide range of causes from poverty and education to natural disaster relief and children's advocacy.

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