Prince Harry has redirected his portion of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to a Botswana-based conservation organisation, cutting ties with the charity he once co-founded in his mother’s name.
The Duke of Sussex had for years channelled the fund’s annual income to Sentebale, which supports orphans and those affected by HIV/Aids across southern Africa.
That arrangement collapsed after his relationship with board chairman Sophie Chandauka broke down in 2025, leading to his resignation, along with the trustees, in deeply acrimonious circumstances.
Sentebale subsequently launched defamation proceedings against the Duke, accusing him of orchestrating an “adverse media campaign” that inflicted “operational disruption and reputational harm” — claims he dismissed as “offensive and damaging”.
Prince Harry has redirected his portion of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to a Botswana-based conservation organisation, cutting ties with the charity he once co-founded in his mother’s name.
|
GETTY
His chosen replacement beneficiary is Elephants Without Borders, a wildlife charity with which both he and the Duchess of Sussex have developed strong ties over many years.
The charity’s founder, Dr Mike Chase, revealed that the funds were used to fit satellite-tracking collars to two “magnificent” elephants roaming the Okavango Delta.
The animals were named Archie and Lili in honour of the Sussexes’ son and daughter.
In a personal touch, Prince Archie selected a blue collar for his namesake, while Princess Lilibet opted for purple, before the elephants were released across northern Botswana’s plains.
The animals were named Archie and Lili in honour of the Sussexes’ son and daughter.
|
INSTAGRAM @Meghan
Dr Chase told The Telegraph he hoped the gesture would help connect the children to their father’s deep affection for the region. “We wanted to pass on that legacy to the kids, in the hope that his passion for Okavango and Botswana would rub off on them, and to allow them to monitor the elephants in real time across the world,” he said.
The collars enable the family to track the animals’ movements via satellite from anywhere on the globe.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was established in the wake of her death in 1997 before being wound down in 2012.
The Royal Foundation took on legal stewardship of the fund the following year to protect any future income streams.
Although it no longer actively fundraises, the fund still occasionally receives legacies and donations, with the proceeds distributed to charities nominated by Prince William and Prince Harry.
When the Sussexes stepped back from royal duties in 2020, the brothers agreed to split the fund’s future income as part of a broader separation of their charitable interests. Harry initially directed his half to Sentebale.
Accounts filed by the Royal Foundation show that Sentebale received a total of £43,866 from the Diana fund between 2020 and 2024, with the final payment of £16,743 arriving in 2024.
In 2025, Harry’s share, amounting to £5,432, was sent to Elephants Without Borders for the first time.
Dr Chase was among the small circle entrusted in August 2017 with the news that Harry had begun a relationship with Meghan Markle
|
GETTY
Dr Chase was among the small circle entrusted in August 2017 with the news that Harry had begun a relationship with Meghan Markle, then known for her role in the American legal drama Suits.
“The Duke has a very strong passion for the Okavango Delta, Botswana, its people, and its wildlife,” Dr Chase told The Telegraph. “I am deeply grateful that he is supporting us through the Diana Memorial Fund, it means a great deal to us and to the elephants we are working so hard to protect.”
Early in their courtship, Harry took Meghan to Botswana, where they joined Dr Chase to track and tag elephants on World Elephant Day.
During a 2019 royal tour of southern Africa, the Duke helped the charity plant hundreds of trees along the Chobe River. Meghan later lent her voice to a Disney documentary called Elephant, with her fee going to the organisation.