LONDON – A spokesperson for Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, confirmed Monday that the British royal has stepped down from his role as a trustee of African Parks, a prominent conservation nonprofit that manages protected areas across 15 million hectares of land in 13 African nations ranging from Chad in the north to Zimbabwe in the south. His exit comes just one week after he announced that he and his immediate family would be moving back to the United Kingdom to take up permanent residence.
Prince Harry first joined the African Parks board of trustees a decade ago, and his departure is scheduled to take effect on September 30, as part of a planned governance overhaul announced by the organization in an August 19 statement. Two new high-profile figures will join the board to fill vacant spots left by outgoing members: a sitting Kenyan Supreme Court justice and the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an organization focused on supporting small-scale agricultural producers across the continent.
The timing of Harry’s exit, however, follows controversy that arose four months ago, when global Indigenous rights advocacy group Survival International publicly called for the prince to resign from the board. The group leveled allegations of human rights violations against park rangers employed by African Parks, claims that the organization has repeatedly denied but that placed public pressure on Harry’s position.
This is not the first high-profile charity exit Harry has made in recent months. In March 2025, he departed Sentebale, the anti-poverty and HIV/AIDS organization he co-founded to support communities in southern Africa, following a reported breakdown in working relations with the charity’s board chair.
Despite the controversy, African Parks board chair Vas Narasimhan issued a public statement praising Harry’s decade of involvement with the nonprofit. “We extend our thanks to all the members of the Board who generously volunteer their time in support of our conservation mission — and particularly to The Duke of Sussex, for a decade of committed service to African Parks,” Narasimhan said.
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle first stepped back from their full-time senior royal roles in 2020, relocating to Southern California to build an independent public profile and professional career. The couple confirmed after their recent announcement that they will not be returning to official royal duties, and will reside in a private non-royal residence on the outskirts of London.