Earlier this year Prince Harry found himself embroiled in controversy that didn’t revolve around the royal family for once. A very public and messy civil war between those running Sentebale, a charity which Harry co-founded, resulted in him stepping down from his position. Now the Charity Commission has released its findings, criticizing Harry but clearing him of racism.
Prince Harry co-founded Sentebale in Lesotho along with Prince Seeiso. The charity aims to help youth in the country who have been affected by HIV/AIDS.
The fallout between Prince Harry and the Sentebale chair
The infighting between leaders within the organization was brought to the public’s attention in March of this year after both founders, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, stepped down along with the charity’s trustees. Harry’s love for the charity – set up in the memory of Princess Diana and to honor her legacy – was well known, but a dispute with the charity’s chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka, led him and others to make the drastic decision to leave.
Harry’s resignation quickly went public, which Chandauka claims led to her being subjected to people who “play the victim card.” She went on to accuse Harry and others of bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir. Chandauka also called out the poor governance behind Sentebale, affirming that she was committed to maintaining the integrity of the organization and its mission to help the youth of Lesotho.
As for Harry, he was reportedly “in shock” and “truly heartbroken” over the way things ended with the charity he set up almost 20 years ago. At the time, the Charity Commission claimed that it was investigating the matter.
What did the Charity Commission find?
According to The Guardian, a ruling on Tuesday criticized all parties involved for “allowing it to play out publicly.” This criticism extends to Prince Harry, of course, whose decision to publicly step down “severely impacted the charity’s reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally.” Chief executive of the Charity Commission, David Holdsworth, stated that the problems should not have played out in the open like they did.
“Sentebale’s problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity’s reputation, risk[ing] overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardising the charity’s ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve.”
While part of the blame for the Sentebale fallout was clearly laid on Harry’s shoulders, the prince was likely relieved to hear that the Charity Commission found no evidence to support Dr. Chandauka’s accusations of racism, misogyny, and harassment. There was also no evidence of “overreach” on the duke’s part, although they cited a “lack of clarity” on why the chair’s delegations “allowed for misunderstandings to occur.”
A spokesperson for Harry commended the commission’s finding, which clears the prince of the more serious accusations, although they claimed that “their report falls troublingly short in many regards.”
