Prince Harry resigns from an African charity he co-founded after a leadership dispute

News

Prince Harry resigns from an African charity he co-founded after a leadership dispute

2025-03-26 22:19 Last Updated At：22:21

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Prince Harry has resigned as a patron of an African charity he co-founded nearly 20 years ago in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, citing a breakdown in the relationship between board members and the chairwoman.

The Duke of Sussex along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who co-founded Sentebale in 2006, said in a joint statement Tuesday they had quit “with heavy hearts” as patrons in support of the trustees in their dispute with chairwoman Sophie Chandauka.

“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,” the princes said. “These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the well-being of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship."

Chandauka said she had reported Sentebale's trustees to the Charity Commission in the U.K. and filed papers in a British court to prevent her removal. In a statement, she made allegations of misconduct at the charity without naming anyone or giving details.

“Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to (the) press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny and misogynoir,” Chandauka said.

Misogynoir refers to a combination of racism and misogyny directed toward Black women.

Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said they would approach the Charity Commission, a government department in the U.K. that regulates philanthropic organizations.

“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," Harry and Seeiso said.

"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.”

Britain’s Press Association reported that the Charity Commission said it was “aware of concerns about the governance” of Sentebale, which is registered in the U.K., and was assessing the issues.

Sentebale, which means “don't forget me” in the Sesotho language of Lesotho and South Africa, was initially focused on helping children and young people affected by AIDS in the small mountainous nation of Lesotho and Botswana.

Sentebale said in a statement it was evolving into an organization that addresses larger issues of youth health, wealth and climate resilience in southern Africa. It said it has not received resignations from its royal patrons.

Harry co-founded the charity after he spent time working at an orphanage in Lesotho during a gap year. He last visited Sentebale in Lesotho in October, when he spoke with young people and others connected to the charity.

He told them: “You might not always realize how significant your influence is, but if it changes even one person’s life, it’s worth it.”

Associated Press writer Keketso Phakela in Maseru, Lesotho, contributed to this report.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

March Madness: Top seeds move on to Elite Eight in women's NCAA Tournament

2025-03-30 11:52 Last Updated At：12:01

Paige Bueckers put on a show in her bid to win a first national championship. Southern California proved it can win without JuJu Watkins.

Bueckers scored a career-high 40 points in UConn's blowout of Oklahoma, sending the second-seeded Huskies to the Elite Eight for the 18th time in 19 seasons.

UConn will face USC on Monday after the Trojans took down No. 5 seed Kansas State 67-61 in their first game since Watkins tore her ACL. The Huskies knocked USC out of last year's NCAA Tournament, when Watkins was a freshman, so the Trojans will be looking for a little payback.

The rest of the Elite Eight will be gathering of high seeds — as usual in the women's NCAA Tournament.

TCU, a No. 2 seed, reached its first trip to the Elite Eight with a 71-62 win over Notre Dame behind a stellar performance by the well-traveled Haley Van Lith. She scored 12 of her 26 points in the fourth quarter to become the first player to lead three schools to the Elite Eight.

The Horned Frogs will meet former Big 12 rival and top seed Texas, a 67-59 winner over Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee.

Fellow top seeds South Carolina and Texas play in Sunday's Sweet 16 games.

South Carolina vs. Duke, Birmingham, Alabama. The Gamecocks and Blue Devils aren't worried about style points, even after ugly Sweet 16 wins. South Carolina was on the ropes against Maryland before pulling out a 70-67 win behind MiLaysia Fulwiley's 23 points to keep its bid for a second national championship alive. Duke had even more of a grind, pulling out a 47-38 win over North Carolina in the lowest-scoring game in the Sweet 16 or beyond in women’s March Madness history. The key in this game will be who can make shots. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley blamed poor shot selection for the Gamecocks' early hole against Maryland and Duke shot 31% in its win over North Carolina.

LSU (31-4) vs. UCLA (33-2), Spokane, Washington. The Bruins were the top overall seed in the bracket and have played like it so far. Lauren Betts has been a big reason. The 6-foot-7 All-American has been dominant in the NCAA Tournament, becoming one of three players to have multiple games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament in the last 25 seasons. She had 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds and three blocks in UCLA's 76-62 Sweet 16 win over Mississippi. LSU is in the Elite Eight for the third straight year. The Tigers' Aneesah Morrow is one of two women in NCAA history with more than 100 double-doubles after posting 30 points and 19 rebounds in an 80-73 win over N.C. State in the Sweet 16.

Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — on ESPN's networks and streaming services with select games on ABC.

The top four betting favorites at the start Sweet 16 week are (in order): UConn, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

There were 31 automatic bids that went to conference champions and they were combined with 37 at-large picks by the NCAA selection committee. Selection Sunday unveiled the bracket matchups.

First- and second-round games concluded Monday on campuses across the country. Sweet 16 weekend (March 28-31) put games at two sites once again: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.

The Final Four is in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, April 4, with the championship game on Sunday, April 6. A year ago, the championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.