Sentebale: The charity inspired by his mother that meant so much to Harry

The Duke of Sussex once vowed never to walk away from Sentebale, the charity he created in memory of his late mother.

Founded when he was 21, it served at the heart of his passionate determination to honour the legacy of Diana, Princess of Wales and her fight against Aids.

Harry told the PA news agency when he launched the organisation in Lesotho nearly 20 years ago: “You’ll be surprised. Come back to this place in 25 years, you’ll see a massive difference.”

The young prince said: “As far as I’m concerned, I’m committed for the rest of my life.”

It is no surprise that the duke has been left devastated after making the decision to quit as Sentebale’s patron amid the trustees’ bitter boardroom battles with chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka.

In a joint statement with co-founder Prince Seeiso, Harry said he was “truly heartbroken” at the developments.

Sentebale marked the biggest personal and charitable commitment the young prince had made when, fresh into adulthood, he set up the charity in 2006.

It was his first ever patronage.

Sentebale was launched to help children orphaned by Aids in the impoverished southern African, landlocked kingdom of Lesotho.

Harry was inspired to do so after spending part of his gap year there in 2004.

He came face-to-face with Aids orphans, met other traumatised young people and visited herd boys living a harsh existence looking after cattle in remote mountain areas.

The name means “forget me not” in the Sesotho language and was personally chosen by Harry in tribute to Diana.

It is also used to say goodbye, meaning literally “Don’t forget me”.

When Harry and the Duchess of Sussex released the bombshell news in 2020 that they wished to step down from the working monarchy, it was to Sentebale that the duke delivered his first public speech following the shock announcement.

Harry made clear his devotion to the organisation, telling them: “When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing.

“You’ve looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us.”

He said at a private dinner for Sentebale supporters: “What I want to make clear is, we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you.”

Johnny Hornby, Sentebale’s then-chairman, said it was Harry’s “passion” not his “title” that the charity needed.

“We don’t need from Sentebale’s perspective his title, we just need his time and his passion and he’s committed to give us that,” Mr Hornby said.

Harry’s role at Sentebale was one of a small number of private patronages he retained after he was stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military positions by the late Queen in 2021 after his departure from the working monarchy was confirmed for good a year after Megxit.

He has a close bond with Prince Seeiso, and the duke said in his Netflix documentary that they are “like brothers”.

Prince Seeiso calls Harry “my younger brother Mohale, the warrior”. Mohale means warrior in Sesotho.

Its trustees, before they resigned, included Mark Dyer, a father figure and lifelong friend to Harry who arranged his gap year to Australia and Lesotho.

Harry has made repeated trips to the country during the last two decades, and struck up a friendship with Relebohile “Mutsu” Potsane, who was four-years-old when he first met Harry in Lesotho in 2004.

Mutsu was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018.

The charity has developed over the years and now runs education projects, a youth hub programme, clubs and camps for children living with HIV, and also works in Botswana.

It emerged in 2009 that the organisation had received £250,000 from Lord Ashcroft, the wealthy Conservative Party donor.

Harry often took part in charity polo matches to raise funds for Sentebale, raising millions of pounds in the process.

But Sentebale has also been beset by change and departures.

In 2023, Mr Hornby left after five years as chair, after which Dr Chandauka was appointed to the role.

In December, the charity shifted its operation to southern Africa, to “place the most critical senior roles in close proximity to its programmes”.

Richard Miller quit as chief executive soon after, with Baroness Chalker having left as a director in the autumn.

Andrew Tucker, whom Harry calls “Tucks”, also recently quit as a director.