Britain's Prince Harry sued for defamation by African charity Sentebale

[ad_1] LONDON (AP) — A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in Africa to honor his late mom, Princess Diana, has sued him for defamation after he stepped down as a patron final 12 months.

Sentebale, which helps younger individuals residing with HIV in Botswana and Lesotho, filed go well with final month in London’s Excessive Court docket, in keeping with courtroom data considered Friday. On-line filings present Harry and his pal, Mark Dyer, a former trustee on the charity, are being sued for both libel or slander. No paperwork have been obtainable.

“The charity seeks the courtroom’s intervention, safety, and restitution following a coordinated antagonistic media marketing campaign performed since 25 March 2025 that has brought about operational disruption and reputational hurt to the charity, its management, and its strategic companions,” Sentebale stated Friday in an announcement on its web site.

A spokesperson for Harry and Dyer stated the pair “categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims.”

The lawsuit places the Duke of Sussex in an unaccustomed place as a defendant within the Excessive Court docket. Over the previous three years, he has repeatedly been on the opposite aspect of litigation because the leading claimant in invasion of privacy suits in opposition to Britain’s most distinguished tabloids over allegations of cellphone hacking and illegal snooping by journalists and the personal eyes they employed.

Harry co-founded Sentebale , which suggests “neglect me not” within the language of Lesotho, about 20 years in the past in reminiscence of his mom, who was a distinguished advocate for remedy of HIV and AIDS and helped cut back stigma across the illness. Prince Seeiso of Lesotho was the co-founder.

Disagreements on the charity surfaced in 2023 over a brand new fundraising technique, and the 2 founders stepped down as patrons in March 2025 in help of trustees who had stop.

On the time, they stated the connection between the board and its chair, Sophie Chandauka, was past restore. Chandauka later accused Harry of orchestrating a marketing campaign of bullying and harassment to attempt to pressure her out.

Because the dispute unfolded, Chandauka advised Sky Information that filming for considered one of Harry’s Netflix applications had interfered with a scheduled fundraiser for Sentebale and that an incident along with his spouse, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, grew to become a supply of friction.

The Charity Fee for England and Wales investigated and criticized each side for permitting the problem to develop into public and damaging the group’s fame, however discovered no proof of widespread bullying or misogyny at Sentebale.

“Sentebale’s issues performed out within the public eye, enabling a harmful dispute to hurt the charity’s fame, threat overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardizing the charity’s capability to ship for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve,” fee CEO David Holdsworth stated in an announcement in August 2025.

Harry’s spokesperson had criticized the fee’s report whereas Chandauka welcomed it.

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Gerald Imray in Cape City, South Africa, contributed to this report.

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