The charity Prince Harry founded to help children orphaned by HIV/Aids in Southern Africa is suing him.
High Court records show that the Duke of Sussex is a defendant in a libel or slander claim.
The claim also names his long-time friend and mentor, Mark Dyer.
In March 2025, Harry issued a joint statement with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho with whom he had founded the charity.
They announced they had taken the “devastating” decision to step down as patrons of the charity to support the board of trustees who had also resigned.
They cited a dispute with the charity chair, Dr Sophie Canduka, over her management of Sentebale and its funds.
The trustees had previously asked Dr Chanduka to resign as they had concerns about her leadership style and the direction in which she was taking the charity.
For her part, Dr Chanduka accused Prince Harry of “harassment and bullying at scale” and claimed Harry wanted to use the charity as a “PR machine” for his wife Meghan.
Harry founded charity Sentebale in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help young people and children in southern Africa, particularly those living with HIV and Aids.
The Duke of Sussex speaks on stage during a concert hosted by Sentebale in Hampton Court Palace in East Molesey in 2019. Credit: PA
Online papers lodged at the High Court show list the case as “Sentebale v Duke of Sussex and another”.
It lists the case as being filed on 24 March 2026 under a case type described as “Media and Communication – Part 7 Claim – Defamation Libel and Slander”.
A “Part 7 Claim” is a standard civil procedure used to launch libel and defamation claims in the UK.
The Claimant is listed as “Sentebale” and the two defendants names are “Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry” and “Dyer, Mark”.
The Charity Commission opened an inquiry after the claims became public and conducted a four-month investigation.
In August last year, it found no evidence of “widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity” as Dr Chanduka had alleged.
Nor did it find any evidence of ‘over-reach’ by either the chair or the Duke of Sussex as patron.
But the Commission did acknowledge the “strong perception of ill treatment felt by a number of parties to the dispute”.
And the regulator identified “mismanagement,” including a lack of clear policies for resolving disputes.
The Charity Commission criticised both sides, Prince Harry’s and Dr Chanduka’s, for allowing the dispute to “play out in the media”, which had “severely impacted the charity’s reputation”.
The Duke of Sussex had previously claimed the chair’s management style was “almost dictatorial” whilst Dr Chanduka claimed there was widespread misogyny and “misogynoir” – a term used to refer to prejudice directed at a black woman.
Prince Harry is no stranger to the High Court having given evidence there in March in the case he has brought against the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday alongside Elton John, Doreen Lawrence and Liz Hurley among others.
He has previously taken the publishers of the Sun and Daily Mirror to the High Court.
In a statement, Sentebale confirmed they had commenced legal proceedings in the High Court of England and Wales.
They said: “The charity seeks the court’s intervention, protection, and restitution following 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 proceedings have been brought against Prince Harry and Mark Dyer, identified through evidence 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.”
The full statement can be read here.
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex and Mark Dyer told ITV News:“As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims. 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.”
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