‘Truth and reconciliation’: What hopes are there for the future of Prince Harry’s charity?
“Truth and reconciliation” – it felt like an interesting phrase after everything that’s been said in the past two weeks, but it came from a source close to the current Sentebale team, when I asked if they could really see any chance of rebuilding what has gone wrong.
It’s been explosive. First, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, the founders, said they’d taken the “heartbreaking” decision to step away in solidarity with the trustees, who had found working with the chair Dr Sophie Chandauka “untenable”. Then Dr Chandauka, speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News last Sunday, accused Prince Harry of “harassment and bullying at scale“.
A source close to the charity’s former trustees described her allegations as “categorically false” and “completely baseless”.
What caused catastrophic breakdown?
This week I’ve been in communication with those on both sides. The acrimony and anger have been palpable, but equally clear from my conversations has been the desire on all sides to try to explain what they feel caused this catastrophic breakdown.
All parties are keen “that polo match” doesn’t become the distraction – the match where it looked like Dr Chandauka and the Sussexes had fallen out. All of those involved want that to be put to one side, as they tell me there are much more fundamental questions that need to be answered.
Taking on board everything I’ve been told, you can largely boil it down to three main areas.
How was the charity being run? I’ve been told work had been going on for some time internally to look at the governance of Sentebale. Was the current setup – how it was being run and the composition of the chair, trustees and the people in those roles – appropriate for a charity heading towards its 20th anniversary?
A genuine desire to help young people
What was the future for Sentebale? Set up because of a genuine heartfelt desire to help young people in Lesotho with HIV and AIDS, was it time for them to broaden that remit? Were there obstacles to those changes happening? But also did it really need to fundamentally change?
And financially what was going on? Again a lot has been said by both sides about money spent on consultants’ fees, and who may have been responsible for sponsors stepping away, and fundraising levels falling.
On Friday, the Charity Commission confirmed it has now opened a compliance case to assess concerns raised about the charity.
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Prince Harry v Sentebale Charity explained
In a statement, Dr Chandauka said: “We hope that, together, these actions will give the general public, our colleagues, partners, supporters, donors and the communities we serve comfort that Sentebale and its new board of trustees are acting appropriately to demonstrate and ensure good governance and a healthy culture for Sentebale to thrive.”
Prince Harry’s statement, also representing Prince Seeiso and the former trustees, said: “We share in the relief that the Charity Commission confirmed they will be conducting a robust inquiry. We fully expect it will unveil the truth that collectively forced us to resign. We remain hopeful this will allow for the charity to be put in the right hands immediately, for the sake of the communities we serve.”
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One insider, still working for the charity, did tell me they still had some hope that there may come a time when there would be some form of “truth and reconciliation process”. They added that they have always felt “if you keep your eye on the charitable objective, then I’ve often found everything falls into place”.
The young people could seriously lose out
Ultimately, at times this week, it has felt like that has been lost from this story. With all the blame and accusations flying around, there’s been little attention on the young people they support, and those they want to help in the future, that could seriously lose out.
Sentebale means so much to Harry, I had in some ways expected more of a robust response to the allegations being laid firmly at his door.
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Prince Harry claims – full interview
In recent years, unleashed from the constraints of royal life, he hasn’t been one to hold back. But you wonder how much everything else that’s been going on at home this week prevented him from more publicly responding.
My inbox has had constant updates from Meghan’s brand “As Ever”, you have to remember this was meant to be Meghan’s big week, where her new products, including flower sprinkles and raspberry spread, finally went on sale and sold out within hours.
Commercial interests at play
In some ways that context underlines one of the difficulties some have spoken to me about, with Harry living this new life.
Speak to those on both sides of this row, and one thing they will actually agree on is that Harry remains a man committed to those principles of service, duty and helping others – it’s in his DNA.
But unlike when he was a working royal, commercial interests are now at play, and that may impact other aspects of his philanthropic endeavours.
Now it’s all in the hands of the Charity Commission, and for now, both sides have fallen silent.
UK
‘Major incident’ declared in Northern Ireland as wildfire breaks out amid higher-than-normal temperatures
A major incident has been declared in Northern Ireland after a wildfire broke out, the latest in a series of blazes seen across the UK over the past week amid soaring temperatures.
More than 100 firefighters and 14 fire appliances were at the scene of the “significant” wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said.
The fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”, the service said.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
“Local residents are requested to avoid the area, a number of roads have been closed, to help support firefighting operations,” the fire service added.
“We ask that all members of the public remain particularly vigilant to the risk of fire at this time. We can reassure members of the public that normal service delivery is being maintained.”
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
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What hopes are there for the future of Prince Harry’s charity?
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Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
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