The Duke of Sussex has announced he has stepped down from a charity he co-founded nearly 20 years ago amid an “unthinkable” controversy within the organisation.

Prince Harry, 40, founded Sentebale with Prince Seeiso in 2006, in honour of their mothers.

In a joint statement, released on Tuesday,  the pair shared their devastation as they confirmed their resignation after the “relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation”.

Sharing their heartbreak over their decision, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said: “Nearly twenty years ago, we founded Sentebale in honour of our mothers. 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. 

“Today is no different. With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organisation 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.”

According to The Times, Sentebale is now the subject of a Charity Commission investigation.

The newspaper reports that the charity’s chair of the board of trustees, Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, is said to be suing the trustees and has refused to step down from the position.

The charity’s former trustees have also been forced to step down from their roles, including Harry’s lifelong friend, Mark Dyer, who served as an equerry to the King in the 1990s.

The Duke and Prince Seeiso shared their support for the former trustees in their joint statement, writing: “These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship.

© Getty Images for Sentebale

“We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act.

“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.”

Joint statement from former trustees

A statement released by Sentebale’s former trustees, Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Dr Kelello Lerotholi, and Damian West, read: “As a group of British and African trustees, we have made the difficult decision to unanimously resign as board members of Sentebale.

“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.  

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“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. 

“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.

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“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. Sentebale is simply too important to us.”

Last year, the Duke made a solo trip to Lesotho and South Africa to showcase Sentebale’s work, and he also visited an art gallery in New York in support of the charity.