The Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case into Sentebale, a week after Harry quit as patron, as ITV News Royal editor Chris Ship reports
It’s not often that a deep dive investigation into the regulatory operations of a charity makes news headlines.
But what has happened in recent days with Sentebale, the charity co-founded by Prince Harry, is a reminder of the personal pain he feels at having to step away from an organisation created in memory of his mother to help children and orphans suffered from HIV/AIDS in southern Africa.
It is also reminiscent of another famous charity which was investigated by the Charity Commission: that of Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Both are high-profile organisations with famous patrons and trustees, and now Sentebale finds itself the subject of a “regulatory compliance case”.
It means the Charity Commission will now seek more information from both sides in this acrimonious spat between Harry (and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho) and the current Chair of the Board, Sophie Chandauka.
It is not – at least not yet – a statutory inquiry, known as a section 46 inquiry, the powers of which were created by the Charities Act of 2011.
But that is a potential outcome – depending on the findings of this first round of work.
For example, it was following a section 46 statutory inquiry into the running of the Captain Tom charity – set up after the international success of his fundraising during the Covid pandemic – that the Charity Commission found “serious and repeated instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement”.
His daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, was disqualified from being a charity trustee or holding a senior charity position for a period of 10 years.
The Charity Commission had already been aware of concerns about the running of Sentebale even before the mass resignations last week of the co-founders, Princes Harry and Seeiso, and the entire Board of Trustees.
Now it is formalising its investigation and will be contacting both sides, in an attempt to get some clarity on which allegations of wrongdoing are true.
How long will it take? No one knows as it will depend on the level of cooperation and the gravity of the accusations from one side or the other.
But it is safe to assume that this is not going be over in a few days.
Expect to wait several weeks – or even months.
A source at the regulator told ITV News that its casework is always “robust and thorough”.
The Duke of Sussex spoke on Thursday of his “relief” that the running of Sentebale is being looked into, saying he hopes it will “unveil the truth that collectively forced us to resign”.
Sophie Chandauka, who went public with her allegations against Prince Harry last weekend, also welcomed the announcement from the charity regulator.
Dr Chandauka, who accused Harry of “harassment and bullying at scale”, insists the charity she runs is “acting appropriately to demonstrate and ensure good governance and a healthy culture for Sentebale to thrive”.
Harry – and those he used to work with at the top of Sentebale – had asked Dr Chandauka to quit her position.
The prince accuses her of trying to sue the charity and says that she had lost the trust and confidence of the trustees.
Harry, Seeiso and all the trustees on the board resigned “with heavy hearts” over the break down in the relationship with Dr Chandauka and called the situation “devastating”.
A decision on who is to blame for the poor running of this charity which has, for two decades, been so close to Prince Harry given the links to Princess Diana’s work, now rests with the Charity Commission.
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