Prince Harry is going through a lawsuit from the charity he co-founded 20 years in the past to honor his late mom, Princess Diana.
A courtroom file made public Friday reveals the charity, Sentebale, which gives help to younger folks in Lesotho and Botswana dwelling with HIV, filed a defamation declare in March in London’s Excessive Court docket towards Harry and his shut pal, Mark Dyer.
The courtroom file reveals Harry and Dyer, a former Sentebale trustee, are being sued for libel and slander. No extra info was obtainable.
On this Feb. 26, 2026, file photograph, the Duke of Sussex visits the World Central Kitchen Meals (WCK), on the Jordan Nation Workplace, in Amman, Jordan.
Aaron Chown/PA Photos through Getty Photos, FILE
Sentebale confirmed the authorized motion in an announcement on its web site Friday, writing, “Sentebale has commenced authorized proceedings within the Excessive Court docket of England and Wales.”
“The charity seeks the courtroom’s intervention, safety, and restitution following a coordinated opposed media marketing campaign performed since 25 March 2025 that has brought on operational disruption and reputational hurt to the charity, its management, and its strategic companions,” the assertion continued, partially. “The proceedings have been introduced towards Prince Harry and Mark Dyer, recognized via proof because the architects of that opposed media marketing campaign, which has had vital viral influence and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed on the charity and its management.”
Sentebale added in its assertion the group is utilizing “exterior funding” for the authorized motion.
“The charity shouldn’t proceed to make use of its sources to handle and deal with the harm this opposed media marketing campaign has brought on to its operations and partnerships. This should cease,” the assertion continued. “The Board and Government Director have taken this authorized motion to safe that safety. The prices of doing so are met completely by exterior funding and no charitable funds have been used.”
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Harry and Dyer mentioned in an announcement to ABC Information Friday the pair “categorically reject” its claims.
“As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims. It’s extraordinary that charitable funds are actually getting used to pursue authorized motion towards the very individuals who constructed and supported the organisation for practically 20 years, somewhat than being directed to the communities the charity was created to serve,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Harry, a son of King Charles III, co-founded Sentebale with Lesotho’s Prince Seesio after spending his hole yr within the nation in 2004.
Harry has mentioned Sentebale, which implies “neglect me not” in Sesotho, the official language of Lesotho, was supposed as a tribute to his late mom Diana, whose favourite flower was the forget-me-not and who was one of many early pioneers to destigmatize HIV/AIDS.
Harry and Seesio resigned from their roles as patrons of Sentebale in March 2025, describing the connection between the nonprofit’s chairwoman and its trustees as “past restore.”
“With heavy hearts, we’ve got resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organisation till additional discover, in help of and solidarity with the board of trustees who’ve needed to do the identical,” Harry and Seeiso mentioned in an announcement on the time, shared with ABC Information. “It’s devastating that the connection between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down past restore, creating an untenable scenario. These trustees acted in the most effective curiosity of the charity in asking the chair to step down, whereas holding the wellbeing of workers in thoughts. In flip, she sued the charity to stay on this voluntary place, additional underscoring the damaged relationship. We thank all of the trustees for his or her service over time and are really heartbroken they’ve needed to comply with via with this act.”
Similtaneously the co-founders’ resignations, Sentebale’s chairwoman, Sophie Chandauka, accused its board of trustees of “poor governance” and “bullying” and the charity confirmed a “restructuring” of its board.
In a report launched in August, the UK’s Charity Fee — the federal government entity that regulates registered charities in England and Wales — mentioned it discovered no proof of “widespread or systemic bullying or harassment” at Sentebale. The fee added that Sentebale had a “lack of readability” in its construction that led to confusion, and criticized the charity for permitting its inside dispute to “play out publicly.”
Previous to his resignation as patron, Sentebale had lengthy been a ardour undertaking for Harry, who has made many non-public and public visits to Lesotho over time and has raised cash for the nonprofit via charity polo matches and different fundraisers.
In 2015, Harry visited Lesotho for the opening of the Mamohato’s Youngsters Centre, the place he named the eating room the “Princess of Wales Corridor,” after Diana.
