This move resulted from the rift between the prince and chairwoman of the charity group Dr. Sophie Chandauka, who had been asked to step down but went to court instead.
Prince Harry in solidarity with the charity’s board of trustees, which had stepped down earlier decided to do the same, given that the relationship between him and chairwoman seemed irreparable.
With Prince Harry, also went the charity’s co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, both of whom founded the group in 2006 to benefit African orphans, and tackle poverty and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana.
“With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and in solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same,” the Prince and his co-founder relayed via a 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 also added that the trustees “acted in the best interest of the charity” by asking Dr. Chandauka to step down, but that her decision to take legal action to retain her position was “further underscoring the broken relationship”.
What Dr. Sophie Chandauka said about Prince Harry’s decision
As reported by the BBC, the chairwoman of Sentebale, Dr. Chandauka stated that she notified the trustees of the UK Charity Commission and had “blown the whistle” on concerns such as misuse of authority, bullying, misogyny, and racism.
“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,” she said.
This, she said, 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.”
According to her statement to the Daily Mail UK, she noted that her ethnicity comes into play in her decision to stand her ground.
“I am an African who has had the privilege of a world-class education and career. I will not be intimidated. I must stand for something. I stand for those other women who do not have the ways and means,” she said.
“Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the Chair of the Board report her own Trustees to the Charity Commission?
Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit?
‘Well, because beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to the press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle,” she continued.
“I have one job. I must focus on fundraising for the very important work of the young people who inspire the incredible team at Sentebale who make sacrifices daily at a time when geopolitics is severely impacting funding for development work in Africa,” she added.
