For years, Harry had donated the annual income generated by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to Sentebale, but that ended this year. Instead, the fund’s proceeds will go to Elephants Without Borders, an environmental organization based in Botswana dedicated to protecting elephants. Led by biologist Mike Chase—a close friend of Harry’s for more than two decades— the organization has allocated the latest installment (amounting to just over $7,347) to monitoring two elephants in the Okavango Delta that have been named Archie and Lili, in honor of the prince’s two children with wife Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry in Lesotho during his 2006 visit, when he founded “Sentebale”
Anwar Hussein Collection/Getty Images
While $7,347 is a drop in the bucket when it comes to environmental concerns, Chase says he finds Harry’s decision to be a “tremendous honor.” Created following the princess’s tragic death in 1997. the fund was established to channel donations from her supporters toward charitable work. It was formally closed in 2012, and a year later, management of its assets was transferred to The Royal Foundation, the charitable organization that Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William, established in 2009. Later, following the Duke of Sussex’s departure from his official role, Harry and William agreed to split the income generated by that legacy equally between them.
While Prince Harry’s share had previously been automatically deposited into Sentebale’s coffers (totaling nearly $60,000 over the past five years), the foundation’s annual financial statements confirm that, for the first time, his entire allocation has been transferred to elephant conservation in Botswana, a country with which the prince has maintained a deep personal connection since he was very young. “In accordance with a request by The Duke of Sussex, half of the net proceeds received by the Diana Fund since 18 December 2019 are being donated to a charity of The Duke’s choosing,” the statement read. “In 2025 all funds will be donated to Elephants Without Borders.”
“The Duke has a very strong passion for the Okavango Delta, Botswana, its people, and its wildlife,” Chase said of Harry’s donation.
“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.”
Originally published by Vanity Fair Spain
