FoxNews: Prince Harry 'in shock' as he quits African charity amid foundation's mounting legal issues

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Prince Harry 'in shock' as he quits African charity amid foundation's mounting legal issues

Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who co-founded Sentebale in 2006, announced their resignation as patrons amid tensions with the chair, Dr. Sophie Chandauka.
                       
                       
                           

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login is parting ways with Sentebale, an African charity he co-founded in honor of his mother, Princess Diana, nearly two decades ago. 

On Monday, the Duke of Sussex, his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and fellow trustees resigned amid tensions with Dr. Sophie Chandauka, the chair of the charity's board.

"Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login. Sentebale means 'forget-me-not' in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho, and it's what we've always promised for the young people we've served through this charity," Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, who co-founded the charity in April 2006, said in a joint statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

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"Today is no different. With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. It is devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation."

The Duke of Sussex co-founded the charity with Seeiso, whose mother died in 2003, after visiting Lesotho during his gap year in 2004. Sentebale was created to help people in Lesotho and Botswana living in poverty and those suffering from HIV and AIDS.

According to You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, the charity had carried out a "restructuring" of its board as "confirmation of its strategy to redeploy senior roles to be proximate to most of the team and programs in southern Africa." The outlet reported that Chandauka is believed to be suing the charity's trustees after they voiced concerned over her leadership. 

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Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso shared that the trustees "acted in the best interest of the charity," despite ongoing tensions with Chandauka. 

"These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the well-being of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship."

"We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they've had to follow through with this act," the statement continued. "What's transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale's beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about."

"Although we may no longer be patrons, we will always be its founders, and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care," the statement concluded.

Former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Dr Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West also explained why they chose to unanimously You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

"As a group of British and African trustees, we have made the difficult decision to unanimously resign as board members of Sentebale," the former trustees said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We are deeply proud to have supported the visionary work of the Founding Patrons Prince Seeiso and Prince Harry, who founded Sentebale in memory of their mothers. For two decades, Sentebale has championed hundreds of thousands of children and young people, providing them with care, training and life skills, which not only benefit each individual child they support, but their families and their communities as a whole.  

"Today's decision is nothing short of devastating for all of us, but we see no other path forward as the result of our loss in trust and confidence in the Chair of the board," the statement continued. "Our priority has always been, and will always be, what's in the best interest of the charity, and it's desperately sad the breakdown in relationship escalated to a lawsuit by the Chair against the charity, to block us from voting her out after our request for her resignation was rejected. We could not in good conscience allow Sentebale to undertake that legal and financial burden and have been left with no other option but to vacate our positions. This was not a choice willingly made, but rather something we felt forced into in order to look after the charity."

"Our sincere hope is that with this decision, the road ahead steadies for the sake of our staff and the communities we serve," the statement concluded. "Sentebale is simply too important to us."

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Chandauka has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Sentebale in the High Court, and accused both princes of playing the "victim card," You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login. 

"I chose to join Sentebale first and foremost as a proud African who understands that – in the spirit of Ubuntu [interconnectedness] – to whom much is given, much is expected," she said in a statement to CBS. "Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organization, its mission, and the young people we serve. My actions are guided by the principles of fairness and equitable treatment for all, regardless of social status or financial means."

"There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct," the statement continued. "Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the chair of the board report her own trustees to the Charity Commission? Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit?

"Well, because beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir [misogyny directed towards Black women] and the cover-up that ensued. I could be anyone."

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