Prince Harry is being sued for libel by the very charity he built in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana. The lawsuit comes less than a year after he resigned from the organization he had championed for nearly two decades.
Sentebale, a UK-registered charity that supports young people living with HIV in Lesotho and Botswana, filed the legal action in London’s High Court in March 2026. Court records, made public on April 10, show Harry and his longtime friend and former Sentebale trustee Mark Dyer named as defendants, according to ABC News.
In a statement on its website, Sentebale accused the pair of orchestrating “a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since 25 March 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners.” The charity described Harry and Dyer as “the architects of that adverse media campaign, which has had significant viral impact and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed at the charity and its leadership.”
Harry fires back, calls claims “offensive”
Harry and Dyer denied everything through a spokesperson. “As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims,” the statement read. “It is extraordinary that charitable funds are now being used to pursue legal action against the very people who built and supported the organisation for nearly two decades, rather than being directed to the communities the charity was created to serve.”
Sentebale pushed back on that framing, clarifying that no charitable funds are being used. “The costs of doing so are met entirely by external funding and no charitable funds have been used,” the organization said.
A personal project turned public battle
Harry co-founded Sentebale in 2006 alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, after spending part of his gap year working at an orphanage in the country in 2004. The name means “forget me not” in Sesotho, a direct tribute to Diana, whose favorite flower it was and who was one of the first prominent figures to destigmatize HIV/AIDS globally.
The public fallout began in early 2025, when Harry and Seeiso resigned as patrons, citing an irreparable breakdown in the relationship between the charity’s board of trustees and its chairwoman, Dr. Sophie Chandauka. “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,” the two princes said at the time.
Chandauka, for her part, accused the board of “poor governance” and “bullying.” She also told Sky News that filming for one of Harry’s Netflix projects had interfered with a planned fundraiser, and that an incident involving his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, had added further tension.
Regulator stepped in, but dispute kept going
The UK’s Charity Commission investigated the fallout and released findings in August 2025. It found no evidence of “widespread or systemic bullying or harassment” at Sentebale but criticized both sides for letting the dispute become public.
“Sentebale’s problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity’s reputation, risk overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardizing the charity’s ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve,” commission CEO David Holdsworth said. Harry’s spokesperson criticized the report while Chandauka welcomed it.
The lawsuit puts Harry in an unusual position. For several years, he has been the one filing cases, pursuing major British tabloids over phone hacking and privacy violations. Now he is the defendant. Experts say the outcome could have lasting effects on his public image and his relationship with charitable work, according to Deadline.
What’s at stake
Sentebale currently serves around 78,000 young people across southern Africa. The organization says its development sector funders have maintained their full financial commitment despite the dispute, pointing to continued donor support as a sign of confidence in its leadership.
Some celebrities have reportedly grown more cautious about their associations in the royal orbit. Sources have said some public figures now think twice before socializing with Meghan Markle amid the ongoing controversies surrounding the couple. Separately, King Charles is facing his own pressure, with calls for him to meet Jeffrey Epstein victims during a US visit.
No further details from the court filings have been made public, and the case remains in its early stages.
