Prince Harry has stopped donating money from his late mother’s memorial fund to Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in her name, after a major row with the chairwoman of the board. The Duke of Sussex’s relationship with chairman Sophie Chandauka imploded last year after a bitter boardroom battle, and reports emerged earlier this year that Harry is being sued for defamation by the charity. Now, Harry has decided to divert funds from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund away from Sentebale.
Background of the Fund and Charity
In 2006, the Duke and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho founded Sentebale, which aimed to help support young people living with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana. The charity was created to honour the legacy of the late Princess Diana, who worked tirelessly for the same causes when she was a working royal. In previous years, Harry has chosen to donate his half of the annual income generated by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to Sentebale.
The income stream from the fund dates back to when Harry and Meghan severed their financial ties with the Royal Family. An agreement was made in December 2019 that half of the net proceeds received through the Diana Fund are donated by the Royal Foundation to a charity selected at Harry's request. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was founded shortly after her death in 1997 and was closed in 2012. In 2013, the Royal Foundation assumed legal control of the fund to safeguard any future income.
Funds Redirected to Elephants Without Borders
While the Diana Fund no longer raises money, it occasionally receives legacies and small donations, with the majority of these proceeds going to charities chosen by Prince William and Prince Harry. It is understood the brothers agreed to divide any proceeds from the funds to charities of their choosing. Sentebale has long been the sole recipient of Harry’s share of the money. However, according to the Royal Foundation’s financial statements, Harry has redirected these funds to Elephants Without Borders, a conservation group that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have forged close links to.
The financial documents reveal that Sentebale has received £43,866 from the Diana fund since 2020, with the last payment of £16,743 made in 2024, while the 2025 account shows Harry’s portion of funds totalling £5,432 went to Elephants Without Borders. The Mirror contacted Harry’s representatives for comment, to which they declined.
Reaction from Elephants Without Borders
Dr Mike Chase, founder of the charity, has known the Duke for more than two decades and said his support had always been a “tremendous honour”. He told The Telegraph they had used the money to fit satellite-tracking collars to two “magnificent” elephants in the Okavango Delta, which they named Archie and Lili after the Sussexes’ two children. “The Duke has a very strong passion for the Okavango Delta, Botswana, its people, and its wildlife,” he said. “I am deeply grateful that he is supporting us through the Diana Memorial Fund, it means a great deal to us and to the elephants we are working so hard to protect.”
Fallout from the Charity Dispute
Sentebale, which means forget-me-not, was thrown into crisis in March 2025, when Harry and Prince Seeiso suddenly stepped down as patrons. The major change came after the charity's trustees sought to introduce a new fundraising strategy, with a dispute arising between Ms Chandauka and some of the trustees and Harry. A war of words followed the resignations with Harry and Seeiso issuing a joint statement, describing their decision as “unthinkable”. They added the trustees “acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down” while “in turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship”.
Chandauka hit back in a television interview, accusing the duke of being “involved” in a “cover-up” of an investigation about bullying, harassment and misogyny at the organisation and said the “toxicity” of his brand had impacted the charity, which she claimed had seen a drop in donors since Harry moved to the US. In April this year, it emerged that Harry is being sued for defamation by the charity, with online High Court filings showing that the Duke is a defendant in a libel or slander claim alongside Mark Dyer, a former trustee. No documents are currently available in the claim originally filed on March 24. Harry and Mr Dyer later said they "categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims". Sentebale said in a statement that it had evidence that Harry and Mr Dyer were the 'architect' of the adverse media campaign, which has triggered an "onslaught of cyber-bullying" at the charity and its leadership.
