Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso are "torn apart" over the thought they are leaving the young people of southern Africa they vowed to help amid their resignation from the charity they founded. The Duke of Sussex, 40, and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, 58, set up Sentebale in 2006 in memory of their late mothers. However, they stepped down from their positions as patrons on March 25 in the wake of infighting at the charity, stemming from disagreements between the charity's trustees and the chairwoman, Dr. Sophie Chandauka over the charity’s governance. The Charity Commission in the U.K. is investigating. Dr. Kelello Lerotholi, a cousin of Seeiso, was part of Sentebale from the very beginning. He is one of the trustees who resigned earlier this week and told the U.K. newspaper The Times, which broke the original story, that he was “worried about the emotional well-being of both princes.” Lerotholi told the paper on March 27, “I think given their commitment to the welfare of kids, they are torn apart at the thought of looking like they’re abandoning them when they know that they’re not abandoning them.” In their original joint statement explaining their decision, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso said, "We founded Sentebale in honor of our mothers. Sentebale means ‘forget-me-not’ in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho, and it’s what we’ve always promised for the young people we've served through this charity. Today is no different." "With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same," they continued. "It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation." Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso added, "What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about." Chandauka is suing trustees after they questioned whether she was best placed to chair the board. The princes' statement noted, “These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down while keeping the well-being of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship." On March 26, a Sentebale source familiar with the situation told PEOPLE that Chandauka has placed significant legal and financial strain on the charity. According to the source, when Chandauka was appointed in July 2023, the organization was in stable financial standing — but that changed under her leadership. When the most recent fundraising deal collapsed in December 2024, internal discussions began about her leaving the post. By February, the board formally requested that she step down, but Chandauka allegedly refused. When trustees moved forward with a vote to remove her, she filed a legal challenge to block the process. The source claimed too that Chandauka hired external consultants — at a cost of more than $600,000 — to develop new fundraising strategies and build relationships with potential donors, allegedly without securing board approval, the source claimed. "The trustees felt that they couldn't in good conscience continue to place legal and financial strain on the charity by it proceeding in court and chose to resign," the source says. A representative for Chandauka told PEOPLE in response: "First and foremost, like much of the content circulated yesterday, a lot of information being shared is untrue and defamatory in nature. When we are ready as an organization, we will share more detail regarding the events leading up to this point. Moreover, the Board acts collectively on major decisions, and it would be inappropriate to assume decisions were made by any one person." After Lerotholi and the other trustees — including Harry’s longtime friend Mark Dyer — resigned and Harry and Seeiso followed, Chandauka issued a strongly-worded statement on March 26, giving her reason for taking legal action and making accusations of “misogyny," “bullying" and "the coverup that ensued.” She added that her work at the charity was "not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account." Lerotholi told The Times in response: “I look on in horror today at the content of the statement, you know, and the allegations made about misogyny and all of that. I can honestly say that, first of all, professionally, in the primary health care work I’ve been doing, I’ve become very sensitive to those other issues of people being discriminated against and so on.” “I can honestly say in all the meetings that I’ve been involved in, there has been no hint of such," he added. "People have been dealing with each other respectfully. Yes, I mean, as there is with any human interaction, there will be time when voices are raised for emphasis or when people feel they’re not being heard, there will be voices raised. But there’s never been a put-down, there’s never been a dismissive tone, there’s never been, you know, at least not in my presence, any of those people being set upon and being made to feel little. I never, not in any single meeting, experienced it.” Talking about the motivation of Harry and Seeiso for helping the young people of the tiny southern African kingdom, Lerotholi says of the early excursions around the country: “They would go out to the mountains and so on and then come back to my place to be refreshed, watch the rugby and hang out. It was during those trips in the very rural, remote areas where the prince took him that he really saw the dire straits and the hard situation that kids were growing up in the area.” Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! The Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, said in a statement, “We can confirm that we are aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale. We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.” Prince Harry most recently visited Lesotho in Oct. 2024, where he met with local communities alongside Prince Seeiso and Chandauka. The Duke of Sussex has regularly played in the polo matches to benefit Sentebale, fundraising more than $10 million over the last decade. At the Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Florida on April 12, 2024, Prince Harry was joined for photos by his wife Meghan Markle, 43, and Chandauka following the match.