Prince Harry redirects Diana fund to elephant charity

Prince Harry has redirected his share of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to Elephants Without Borders, a Botswana-based wildlife conservation organization, ending years of financial support to Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in 2006 to help children and young people affected by HIV and AIDS in southern Africa. The decision, made in 2025, follows a bitter public dispute between Harry and Sentebale's board chair, Sophie Chandauka, which led to his resignation from the charity in March 2025 and a subsequent defamation lawsuit filed by Sentebale against him and Mark Dyer, alleging a coordinated adverse media campaign that caused operational disruption and reputational harm.

The Diana Memorial Fund, established after Princess Diana's death in 1997, stopped active fundraising in 2012 but continues to receive legacies and donations. Since 2020, the fund's annual income has been split equally between Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William, following the Sussexes' decision to step down from royal duties. According to accounts filed by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Sentebale received a total of £43,866 from the Diana Fund between 2020 and 2024, with the final payment of £16,743 made in 2024. In 2025, Harry's allocation of £5,432 was instead donated to Elephants Without Borders, marking the first time his share went to a different charity.

The elephant charity, founded by Dr. Mike Chase, has named two elephants after Harry's children, Archie and Lili, in tribute to his support. The donated funds were used to fit satellite-tracking collars to two elephants in the Okavango Delta, with Archie choosing a blue collar and Lili a purple one. Dr. Chase expressed deep gratitude for the support and hoped that Harry's passion for the Okavango Delta and its wildlife would be inherited by his children. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, had previously donated her fee for narrating the Disney film 'Elephant' to the same charity, and she and Harry had enjoyed a romantic trip to Botswana early in their relationship, where they joined Dr. Chase in tracking and tagging elephants on World Elephant Day.

The fallout with Sentebale began in early 2025 when Harry and fellow founder Prince Seeiso, along with a group of trustees, resigned from the charity after a dispute with Chandauka. The Charity Commission later published a report criticizing all sides for playing out the dispute in public, stating that trustees contributed to a 'missed opportunity' to resolve issues and potentially caused wider damage to the charity sector by eroding public confidence. The commission found no evidence of systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir, which Chandauka had alleged. A source said in August 2025 that Harry was emotionally devastated by the events after 19 years of working with the charity.

Sentebale's lawsuit, filed in 2025, sought the court's protection because its work had been undermined following a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since 25 March 2025. The charity claimed that Harry and Dyer were identified through evidence as the architects of that campaign, which caused operational disruption and reputational harm. In response, a spokesman for Harry and Dyer said the charity should focus on the communities it serves rather than pursuing legal actions. The redirection of Diana Fund money to Elephants Without Borders is seen as a further step in Harry's separation from Sentebale, reflecting his ongoing commitment to wildlife conservation in Botswana, a country he has long been associated with.