Victoria Ward
The Duke of Sussex has diverted money from his late mother’s memorial fund away from Sentebale and to a Botswana-based elephant charity.
Harry had for years chosen to donate the annual income generated by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in his mother’s memory to help orphans in Southern Africa.
But his relationship with Sophie Chandauka, the chairman of the board, imploded in 2025, prompting him to step down alongside the board of trustees amid a blaze of recriminations.
The duke was later sued for defamation by the charity over allegations he co-ordinated an “adverse media campaign” which caused “operational disruption and reputational harm”, allegations he rejected as “offensive and damaging”.
He has opted to send his share of the proceeds from the Diana fund to Elephants Without Borders, a conservation group with which he and the Duchess of Sussex have forged close links.
Dr Mike Chase, founder of the charity, has known the duke for more than two decades and said his support had always been a “tremendous honour”.
He told London’s Daily Telegraph they had used the money to fit satellite-tracking collars to two “magnificent” elephants in the Okavango Delta, which they named Archie and Lili after the Sussexes’ two children.
“The duke has a very strong passion for the Okavango Delta, Botswana, its people, and its wildlife,” he said. “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.”
Chase added: “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.”
Prince Archie chose a blue collar for the elephant named in his honour, while Princess Lilibet chose purple, before they were deployed across the plains of northern Botswana.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was founded shortly after her death in 1997 and was closed in 2012. In 2013, the Royal Foundation assumed legal control of the fund to safeguard any future income.
While it no longer raises money, it occasionally receives some legacies and donations, with the bulk of the proceeds going to charities chosen by Prince William and Harry.
After the Sussexes’ departure from royal duties in the UK in 2020, the brothers agreed to divide the future proceeds of their mother’s memorial fund between them as part of the separation of their charitable activities.
Harry had asked for his share to go to Sentebale, which helps the victims of poverty and HIV/ Aids in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi.
According to annual accounts filed by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Sentebale has received £43,866 ($83,777) from the Diana fund since 2020, with the last payment of £16,743 made in 2024.
The latest accounts reveal that in 2025, for the first time, Harry’s slice of the fund, which at this time was £5,432 went to Elephants Without Borders.
It says: “In accordance with a request by The Duke of Sussex, half of the net proceeds received by the Diana Fund since December 18, 2019 are being donated to a charity of The Duke’s choosing. In 2025 all funds will be donated to Elephants Without Borders.”
Harry has known Chase for more than 20 years. The pair are very close, and Chase is considered a member of Harry’s “African family”. In August 2017, he was among the group of people trusted with the news that he had begun dating Meghan Markle, then an actress starring in US cable drama Suits.
Shortly after they met, Harry whisked Meghan off to Botswana and the pair joined Chase in tracking and tagging the animals on World Elephant Day.
Two years later, in September 2019, the duke undertook a royal tour of Southern Africa and joined the charity in planting hundreds of trees along the banks of the Chobe River. The following year, Meghan narrated a Disney film called Elephant, donating her fee to Elephants Without Borders.
The Royal Foundation celebrated in its 2025 annual review a “landmark” year during which income increased from £12.2 million the previous year to £19.6 million.
The notable rise is said to reflect an “updated fundraising strategy” that resulted in a large increase in donations and legacy income to support the development of programmes such as the Prince of Wales’s Homewards initiative and the Princess of Wales’s early childhood project.
The income also included £259,000 from the Earthshot Prize. Its value had increased in 2025 but reduced in 2024.
Unrestricted income increased from £6.8 million to £11 million, reflecting the growth of the charity’s donor base, the report said.
The American Friends of the Royal Foundation, which is registered in Delaware, donated almost £8.7 million to the organisation in 2025, almost double the £4.9 million it raised in 2024.
According to the financial statement: “The American Friends support The Royal Foundation’s programmes and initiatives, primarily focusing on projects that deliver impact on an international scale.”
London Telegraph
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