he High Court defamation claim brought by Sentebale against its co-founder Prince Harry has been put on hold, it has been revealed.
Harry co-founded the charity in 2006 in memory of his mother, Princess Diana. But in April, it was announced that Sentebale was suing the Duke and another former trustee of the charity, Mark Dyer.
They were accused of being “architects of an adverse media campaign” which caused disruption and “reputational harm” to the charity and its leadership.
A spokesperson for Harry and Mark said at the time: “As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims.
“It is extraordinary that charitable funds are now being used to pursue legal action against the very people who built and supported the organisation for nearly two decades, rather than being directed to the communties the charity was created to serve.”
Now the case has now been paused amid financial strain at the charity, the Telegraph reports.
Sentebale and Harry are said to have agreed an extension for the filing of the acknowledgement of service and defence documents, which has led to a pause in the proceedings. The particulars of the claim cannot be made public until those documents have been filed.
According to the publication, the legal action has stalled amid fears that a loss could see the charity forced to fold in order to cover its legal bills.
HELLO! has reached out to Sentebale for comment.
© Getty ImagesSentebale reported a 20 per cent drop in income months after launching the defamation claim, with income from events in 2025 falling to just £70,000 – less than a tenth of the total for the previous year. The charity told The Times that its general reserves were in deficit by £10,000, compared with a surplus of £232,000 at the end of 2024.
Harry has made clear that he is prepared to go to trial, which if successful could see Sentebale liable for the costs of both sides as well as a potential payout.
Sentebale’s latest accounts show the charity attracted £342,000 in donations in the last financial year, almost £50,000 more than it did in 2024-25, and donations to the charity rose from £47,000 to £189,000. But income from events dropped from £715,000 to £70,000 and cash from institutions decreased from £2.6million to £1.7m.
It has been suggested that the end of lucrative polo matches Harry played to raise money for Sentebale accounts for the drop in events income.
© Photo: Getty ImagesSentebale was founded to help support children affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.
Harry and his co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, announced in March 2025 they were resigning because of “unthinkable” infighting within the charity, and following a bitter dispute with the charity’s chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka over financial problems and fundraising strategy.
Both sides had traded accusations about poor behaviour and there was an investigation by the Charity Commission.
Ms Chandauka accused the board of abuse of power, bullying, misogyny and harassment, and suggested that Sentebale was a “vanity project” for Harry and his friends who used the media they “disdain” to cause harm.
© Getty Images for SentebaleAn investigation by the Charity Commission watchdog concluded in August 2025. It stated that there was blame on all sides and criticised the way the dispute had played out so publicly, in a way that was harmful to the charity.
“Sentebale’s problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity’s reputation, risk overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardising the charity’s ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve,” said Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth.
