Prince Harry: Fresh blow as Sentebale charity chief Richard Miller quits

Prince Harry was in ebullient form at an art gallery party in New York last week to celebrate the launch of a fundraising show for his African children’s charity Sentebale.

Behind the scenes, there have, I hear, been major changes going on at the organisation he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.

This week, Richard Miller quit as chief executive of Sentebale after five years in the role. His departure follows that of Baroness Chalker, the overseas development minister, who stepped down as a director last month.

It was the latest blow for the Duke of Sussex’s organisation, which lost advertising king Johnny Hornby last year. He stood down after 11 years as a trustee, five of which he spent as chairman.

Last month, The Mail on Sunday disclosed that Andrew Tucker, whom Harry affectionately calls ‘Tucks’, had resigned from his senior position at Sentebale after almost a decade.

In another sign of Harry and his wife, Meghan, cutting links with Britain, Miller will be the last London-based chief executive of Sentebale, which means ‘forget me not’ in Sesotho.

The charity says Miller, 62, will be replaced by an interim executive director, Carmel Gaillard. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, she has been asked to deliver a ‘strategic transformation’ of the charity.

It has evolved from supporting young people affected by HIV/ Aids in Lesotho and Botswana to addressing broader issues of ‘youth health, wealth inequity and climate resilience’.

‘This shift reflects our continued commitment to being guided by voices from within the region we serve,’ say Princes Harry and Seeiso in a joint statement. ‘We sincerely thank Richard for his pivotal role in steering our organisation toward this important evolution.’

Miller says: ‘It is the logical next step for Sentebale, and the time is right for this shift to local leadership. Carmel is an incredible asset to position Sentebale further as a leader in the region.’