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

Prince Harry is being sued for defamation by officials at the African charity he co-founded.

On Friday, editors at the BBC obtained court records that show the Duke of Sussex, and another former trustee, Mark Dyer, are listed as defendants in a lawsuit for "defamation - libel and slander".

A spokesperson for the charity told the outlet that they were pursuing legal action against Harry and others due to an alleged "adverse media campaign" which they assert has caused "reputational harm" to the image of the organisation.

In addition, they are asking a court to provide "intervention, protection, and restitution".

Representatives for Harry, 41, have not yet responded to the allegations.

In March 2025, the British royal and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho resigned as patrons of Sentebale as a result of then-chair Dr Sophie Chandauka suing the organisation after she was asked to step down.

Following an investigation into Sentebale, officials from The Charity Commission announced last August that they had found no evidence of "widespread or systemic bullying, harassment, misogyny or misogynoir".

Yet, Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth, criticised all parties for allowing the dispute "to play out publicly", which "severely impacted" the charity's reputation and "risked undermining public trust in charities more generally".

"Sentebale's problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity's reputation, risk(ing) overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardising the charity's ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve," he commented at the time.

The watchdog issued Sentebale, which supports children and young people in Southern Africa, a Regulatory Action Plan to make improvements and rectify findings of mismanagement.

Harry set up the charity in memory of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.