Prince Harry is reportedly “bitterly disappointed” that his charity has only given UKP84,000 of the UKP1.15 million it has raised to AIDS orphans.
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The prince is said to be deeply unhappy with reports Sentebale, which the prince set up to help children in AIDS-ravaged African country Lesotho, has so far spent more money on staff costs than on kids who have lost parents to the deadly illness.
However, a spokesperson for Harry’s royal London residence Clarence House claims the prince understands why much of the money is yet to be used. They insisted: “Prince Harry is not angered by Sentebale’s performance. He understands the importance of establishing its office on the ground in Lesotho.
“It has begun to fulfil his vision of supporting small, community-based projects and by the end of August it will have spent UKP225,000 directly on such projects. The last thing he wanted was for Sentebale to distribute funds without checking they were going to the right projects.”
The charity still reportedly has UKP600,000 still sitting unused in a bank account.
Accounts for the organisation’s first 17 months show Sentebale has spent UKP250,000 on staffing costs, including giving UKP47,000 to the offices of Harry’s father Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to cover consultancy charges and salaries.
The bulk of the charity’s money has so far gone on running costs, including UKP75,000 on vehicles and equipment and UKP86,000 setting up a website. It is estimated that more than one in six of the country’s 2.2 million population suffers from AIDS.
Harry set up Sentebale, which means ‘forget me not’, with Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso in 2006, after being deeply affected by the vulnerable children he met during his gap year in Africa in 2004.
