Prince Harry has been left "devastated" after the Duke of Sussex released a joint statement quitting his charity Sentebale.
Harry, 40, set up the charity with Prince Seeiso - who has also reigned alongside the duke - nearly 20 years ago with the aim to help people in Lesotho and Botswana living in poverty and those suffering from HIV and Aids.
The now Californian-based royal set up the charity after visiting Lesotho during his gap year in 2004.
In a joint statement, the friends and former board members described an "unthinkable" breakdown in "the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation".
Prince Harry has been left "devastated" after the Duke of Sussex released a joint statement quitting his charity Sentebale
GettyThe statement read: "Nearly 20 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."
Sentebale was established in 2006 by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in memory of their late mothers, Princess Diana and Queen Mother 'Mamohato Bereng Seeiso
GettyLast night, a spokesman for Sentebale said that the charity had carried out a "restructuring" of its board as "confirmation of its strategy to redeploy senior roles to be proximate to most of the team and programmes in southern Africa".
The row is centred around the chair of the board of trustees and a decision to focus fundraising largely in Africa, according to the Times.
The charity appointed a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, Sophie Chandauka, to the post last year.
She is understood to be suing the trustees after they questioned whether she was best placed to chair the board, according to the publication.
LATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Siding with the departing trustees, the princes’ statement said: "These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind.
"In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.
"We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act.
"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.
"Although we may no longer be patrons, we will always be its founders, and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care."
Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho at a welcome event at Sentebale’s Mamohato Children’s Centre
GettyThe Charity Commission confirmed on Tuesday that an investigation was underway into concerns about the governance of the organisation, with Chandauka refusing to step down.
Board members Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West also resigned from their positions as trustees.
A spokesman for Sentebale told GB News that the charity had not received notice of Prince Harry's or Prince Seeiso's resignation, adding that the "recalibration" of the board was "part of Sentebale’s ambitious transformation agenda".
Prince Harry last travelled to Africa in 2024 to support the charity, and in December, attended an event for the charity in New York.
