Dr Kelello Lerotholi, a former trustee of Sentebale who also quit his position at the same time as its founders Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, says the pair are “torn apart” at deciding to resign from the organisation amid a bitter boardroom row

A trustee who quit Prince Harry’s charity at the same time as him in an extraordinary row has said he is worried about the royal’s “emotional wellbeing” and that he’s “torn apart”. In a shock statement, the Duke of Sussex revealed he would be resigning as patron of Sentebale, the charity he helped to set up almost 20 years ago in honour of his late mother Princess Diana to help children affected by HIV/AIDs.

His resignation along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, the charity’s other joint founder, came just hours before its chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka appeared to criticise Harry for “”playing the victim card” and issued a blistering statement alleging there had been “poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir”.

As well as Harry and Seeiso, several trustees have left the organisation in a dispute with Dr Chandauka, having requested her resignation. The dispute is believed to have arisen due to a decision to focus fundraising in Africa. And now Dr Kelello Lerotholi, one of the charity trustees who has worked with the charity since it started in 2006 and quit at the same time as Harry has revealed he is “worried about the emotional wellbeing of both princes” amid the bitter row.

He told The Times: “I think given their commitment to the welfare of kids, they are torn apart at the thought of looking like they’re abandoning them when they know that they’re not abandoning them.”

Harry spent two months in the kingdom of Lesotho during his gap year when he was 19 in 2004, which inspired him to establish the charity two years later, which now also works in Botswana. 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.

Harry during a trip to Lesotho in 2008 (Image: Getty Images)

Two years later – in memory of his late mother – he set up Sentebale with Prince Seeiso to help young people and children in southern Africa, particularly those living with HIV and Aids. Its name means ‘forget-me-not’ – the favourite flower of Harry’s late mother.

Speaking when he launched the organisation in Lesotho nearly 20 years ago, he said: “You’ll be surprised. Come back to this place in 25 years, you’ll see a massive difference.” The young prince added: “As far as I’m concerned, I’m committed for the rest of my life.”

Dr Lerotholi is a cousin of Seeiso and regards Harry as ‘family’ after the prince would come and watch rugby at his home during his 2004 gap year. He added: “They would go out to the mountains and so on and then come back to my place to be refreshed, watch the rugby and hang out.

“It was during those trips in the very rural, remote areas where the prince took him that he really saw the dire straits and the hard situation that kids were growing up in the area.”

In their statement confirming their decision to resign as patrons, Harry and Seeiso said: “With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. 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.”