Prince Harry Breaks His Silence with Rare Statement: “What Has Transpired Over the Last Week Has Been Heartbreaking to Witness”

All throughout Meghan Markle’s As Ever launch this week, her husband, Prince Harry, has been navigating an unanticipated end: Announced last week, the Duke of Sussex would be resigning from his role as founder and patron of his beloved Sentebale charity, launched in 2006 in honor of his late mother Princess Diana, amidst a fallout with the organization’s current chairperson, Dr. Sophie Chandauka.

Jason Koerner/Getty Images

Harry, who co-founded the charity alongside Prince Seeiso, who was also impacted by the loss of his mom at a young age, has released a new statement on the matter following an announcement from the U.K.’s Charity Commission that it had formally started their investigation into where things went wrong for Sentebale with this internal dispute.

Per the Charity Commission, they have opened a “regulatory compliance case” and will be gathering evidence to “assess the compliance of the charity and trustees past and present with their legal duties.”

Prince Harry had this to say in response to the news, per the BBC: “From the inception of Sentebale nearly 20 years ago, Prince Seeiso and I have had a clear goal: to support the children and young people in Southern Africa in memory of our mothers. What has transpired over the last week has been heartbreaking to witness, especially when such blatant lies hurt those who have invested decades in this shared goal. No one suffers more than the beneficiaries of Sentebale itself.”

Jason Koerner/Getty Images

The Duke’s statement continues: “On behalf of the former trustees and patrons, we share in the relief that the Charity Commission confirmed they will be conducting a robust inquiry. We fully expect it will unveil the truth that collectively forced us to resign. We remain hopeful this will allow for the charity to be put in the right hands immediately, for the sake of the communities we serve.”

Of course, Prince Harry is referencing the bitter (and public) infighting that has carried on via the media since he made the “devastating” decision to walk away from his role. Alongside Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, the entire board of trustees for the organization resigned last week in protest of chairperson Dr. Sophie Chandauka, who has been with the charity since July 2023.

Dr. Chandauka also released a statement confirming she, too, welcomes the Charity Commission’s investigation. “We hope that, together, these actions will give the general public, our colleagues, partners, supporters, donors and the communities we serve comfort that Sentebale and its new Board of Trustees are acting appropriately to demonstrate and ensure good governance and a healthy culture for Sentebale to thrive.” (In the meantime, the work of the charity carries on.)

Brian Otieno/Getty Images

The reason for the fallout? Following Harry’s announcement of his exit, it was revealed that Dr. Chandauka had recently been asked to resign only to respond to the request with a lawsuit against the organization. (Per People, sources say the friction relates to financial strain for the charity that arose during Dr. Chandauka’s tenure.)

Clearly, the priority is the charity with both sides eager to get to the bottom of the dispute.

Prince Harry Steps Out for Surprise Appearance at Miami Charity Event