Prince Harry sued for defamation by charity Sentebale he co-founded

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A charity co-founded by the Duke of Sussex is suing him for defamation, court records show.

A spokesman for Sentebale, which supports young people in southern Africa, says the court action is because of an alleged "adverse media campaign" which they claim has caused disruption and "reputational harm" to the charity and its leadership.

Representatives of Prince Harry, and another former trustee of the charity, Mark Dyer, who is also being sued, have not responded.

In an acrimonious dispute over how the charity was being managed, Prince Harry left Sentebale last year.

The court filing shows Prince Harry as a defendant alongside Mark Dyer in a claim listed on 24 March as "defamation - libel and slander".

A statement on behalf of the charity's trustees and executive director said the court case seeks the court's "intervention, protection, and restitution" against what it claims are co-ordinated media attacks, which it says undermine the charity and its efforts to help young people.

Prince Harry and his fellow founder, Prince Seeiso, left the charity in March 2025 along with a group of trustees, in a dispute with the charity's chair, Sophie Chandauka.

Both sides had traded claims about poor behaviour and there was an investigation by the Charity Commission.

The watchdog concluded in August 2025 that there was blame on all sides and criticised the way the dispute had played out so publicly, in a way that harmed the charity.

"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 jeopardising the charity's ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve," said Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth.

Prince Harry co-founded Sentebale in 2006 in honour of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, to help young people in Botswana and Lesotho, particularly those living with HIV and Aids.