Breaking days of silence after he was accused of bullying and harassment, Prince Harry said on Thursday that he welcomed news that the bitter dispute at the charity he co-founded is to be investigated by the Charity Commission, an independent watchdog group that regulates charities in England and Wales.
The charity, Sentebale, has been engulfed in a public relations crisis since last week, when Harry and his co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, announced they were resigning as patrons in solidarity with five departing trustees over a damaging rift with the chair of the board, Sophie Chandauka.
Ms. Chandauka has since gone on television in Britain to air incendiary claims against the former trustees and Harry, including allegations of sexism, harassment and bullying, which they have strongly denied.
“On behalf of the former trustees and patrons, we share in the relief that the Charity Commission confirmed they will be conducting a robust inquiry,” Harry said in a statement issued with Prince Seeiso. “We fully expect it will unveil the truth that collectively forced us to resign.”
The dispute between Ms. Chandauka and the prince has spiraled, with Ms. Chandauka claiming she was targeted by the publicity machine of Harry and his wife, Meghan, after an awkward encounter with Meghan at a polo match in Miami to raise money for the charity. Harry has declined to answer her specific allegations, saying he preferred to settle matters through an outside investigation.
The former trustees, in turn, said they had lost confidence in Ms. Chandauka’s leadership, citing problems like a decline in fund-raising and expensive consulting contracts that they said she had signed without informing the board.
“What has transpired over the last week has been heartbreaking to witness,” Harry and Prince Seeiso said, “especially when such blatant lies hurt those who have invested decades in this shared goal.”
The Charity Commission said it had opened a compliance case to examine concerns about Sentebale, which operates in southern Africa but is registered in Britain. The commission said its scope would include determining whether trustees, including Ms. Chandauka, had fulfilled their legal duties.
“The regulator’s focus, in line with its statutory remit, will be to determine whether the charity’s current and former trustees, including its chair, have fulfilled their duties and responsibilities under charity law,” it said in its statement.
Ms. Chandauka said in a statement that she, too, welcomed the watchdog’s decision to proceed with a case. “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,” she said.
In an interview last Sunday with the broadcaster Sky News, Ms. Chandauka claimed that Harry’s resignation was calculated to damage the charity after he failed to oust her from her post. She said the drama surrounding the split between the Harry and the royal family had become the greatest risk to the charity.
Sentebale was co-founded by the prince in 2006 to honor his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and to raise money to help young victims of the H.I.V. pandemic in Lesotho. It has expanded operations to nearby Botswana and works on issues ranging from substance abuse and gender-based violence to climate change, and how they affect young people.
Among the Charity Commission’s previous high-profile investigations, it found evidence of misconduct at a foundation set up in the name of Captain Tom Moore, a decorated British Army officer who raised nearly 40 million pounds ($52.5 million) for the National Health Service by walking around his garden at the age of 99.
The commission said in a report that Mr. Moore’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, and her husband, Colin, had “damaged public trust” by profiting from their links to the foundation.
