LONDON — Prince Harry has been sued by Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in memory of Princess Diana, in a defamation case that accuses him and former trustee Mark Dyer of helping drive a damaging media campaign against the organization. The claim, which surfaced in the High Court on Friday, turns a long-running governance feud into fresh legal scrutiny for the Duke of Sussex, with the charity alleging reputational harm, operational disruption and cyberbullying aimed at its leadership, April 10.
Prince Harry and Sentebale: what the claim says
In a statement published Friday, Sentebale said it had launched legal proceedings in the High Court of England and Wales and was seeking protection and restitution over what it described as an adverse media campaign dating to March 25, 2025. The charity said Harry and Dyer were identified through evidence as the leading architects of that campaign and said the fallout strained relationships with staff, partners and prospective supporters.
Harry and Dyer deny the accusation. According to Reuters, citing the court record and a spokesperson for the pair, they rejected the claim and challenged the decision to take the row to court. Sentebale, for its part, said the legal costs are being covered by external funding rather than charitable money.
The case is notable because, as AP reported after reviewing the court listing, online filings describe the matter as libel or slander and the underlying claim papers were not immediately public. That means the broad allegation is known, but the precise statements at issue were not immediately clear.
Prince Harry and Sentebale: what the watchdog already found
The lawsuit arrives months after the U.K. charity regulator finished its own review of the crisis. In its Aug. 6, 2025 concluding statement, the Charity Commission said it found no evidence of systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir, but sharply criticized governance weaknesses and the decision by all sides to let the dispute play out in public. The regulator said confusion over roles and internal policies worsened the breakdown and damaged the charity’s reputation.
Prince Harry dispute timeline shows a feud that kept escalating
For readers who have followed the split for more than a year, the rupture first burst into public view when Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho stepped down as patrons in March 2025. That moment was detailed in a March 26, 2025 Reuters report on the resignations, which described the relationship between the trustees and chair Sophie Chandauka as irreparable.
Days later, the row deepened when Chandauka publicly accused Harry of harassment and bullying, allegations outlined in a March 29, 2025 Reuters report on the chair’s claims. The same dispute later drew regulatory scrutiny and has now evolved into a direct court fight between the charity and one of its best-known founders.
What began as a governance breakdown has now become a legal fight over public statements and reputational harm. For Prince Harry and Sentebale alike, the case pushes a dispute once confined to trustees and patrons into a far more public arena.
