Prince Harry arrived in Canada to rejoin his wife Meghan and son Archie on Monday, British media reported, as the couple start a new life after their shock exit from the royal fold.
The Daily Mail newspaper said he landed at Vancouver International Airport on British Airways flight 85 from London’s Heathrow at about 7 pm local time.
It published a photo of him wearing a blue beanie and jeans with a backpack over his shoulders after slipping out a back staircase, escorted by security.
Sky News published footage of Harry descending the steps of an aircraft.
A waiting minivan on the tarmac took him to a connecting flight to Victoria, where he and his family spent the last two months.
The information could not be confirmed by AFP journalists who had staked out the Vancouver and Victoria airports. A videographer, however, saw two vehicles leaving the Victoria area mansion where the couple had been staying for the past two months.
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrives to attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on January 20, 2020. Ben STANSALL / AFP
The Duchess of Sussex was earlier spotted with Archie taking dogs for a walk in the neighbourhood.
She’d also made outings last week to Vancouver, visiting a women’s shelter and a charity that supports girls.
According to local reports, the couple is looking to buy a beachside house in Vancouver, or possibly in Toronto, where Meghan spent several years while acting in the television series “Suits.”
Earlier, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson, who remains sixth in line to the throne, attended the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, seems in good spirits as he met the presidents of Malawi and Mozambique and the Moroccan prime minister.
He also had an informal 20-minute private meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hosted the event.
Harry skipped a summit dinner for visiting African leaders at Buckingham Palace in order not to overshadow his brother William’s hosting of the event, the Daily Mail reported.
He and Meghan are bowing out entirely from representing the British monarchy, in a crisis that has shaken the centuries-old institution.
He said on Sunday night they did not want to quit their royal duties but reluctantly accepted there was “no other option” if they wanted to cut loose from public funding and seek their own income in pursuit of more independent life.
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, reacts as he waits to greet a guest during the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on January 20, 2020. Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP
Britain’s Prince Harry expressed “great sadness” on Sunday at the way he and his wife Meghan had to give up their royal titles as part of a separate settlement with the Queen.
“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” Harry said in his first remarks on Saturday’s historic agreement, made during a public address and posted on the couple’s Instagram account.
“Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible,” he told supporters of his Africa-based charity for youngsters with HIV at an event in London.
The settlement stripped Harry and Meghan of public funding and required them to repay £2.4 million ($3.1 million) of taxpayer’s money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle.
Harry was also forced to give up the military titles and patronages he was awarded after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army.
But Harry said he felt “utmost respect” for Queen Elizabeth II.
“It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service.”
“I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family, for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months.”
He also hinted at some trepidation at starting a new life away from his royal home. He and Meghan will spend some time in Canada before deciding whether to move to the United States or another country.
“We are taking a leap of faith — thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step,” he said.
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex react as they leave after her visit to Canada House in thanks for the warm Canadian hospitality and support they received during their recent stay in Canada, in London. DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / POOL / AFP
Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan began a new life Sunday as — somewhat — ordinary people with financial worries and security concerns after being stripped of their royal titles and public funding by the Queen.
The settlement announced by Buckingham Palace on Saturday saw the 93-year-old monarch assume her painfully familiar role of managing a family crisis that threatened the very foundations of one of Britain’s oldest institutions.
The “Megxit” mess began when the young couple gave up their font-line family duties and announced plans to chart a “progressive new role” in North America on January 8.
They did so without winning Queen Elizabeth II’s permission or seemingly knowing how it was all going to work out.
A mad rush of royal family meetings and screaming headlines in the tabloid press culminated with a ruling Saturday that The Daily Telegraph called “the hardest Megxit possible”.
‘Absolutely unprecedented’
The couple lost their right to be called “his and her royal highness” (HRH) — much as Harry’s late mother Princess Diana did when she divorced Prince Charles in another family drama that upset the Queen in 1996.
They further agreed to repay £2.4 million ($3.1 million) of taxpayer’s money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle.
“No royal has ever paid back the money,” former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter wrote in The Sun on Sunday.
“It is absolutely unprecedented.”
Harry was also stripped of the military titles and patronages he was awarded after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army and rising to the rank of captain.
But Arbiter said it was the loss of the HRH “royal highness” title that really made Palace history.
“Even when Edward VIII abdicated (in 1936) he dropped from being His Majesty The King to HRH the Duke of Windsor,” he said.
Arbiter noted that Princess Diana was not born a royal and had her HRH “obtained through marriage.”
‘The point of life’
Few know what Meghan — an American former TV actress with a huge social media following and A-list celebrity friends such as Oprah Winfrey and the Obamas — thinks of the British brouhaha about ancient acronyms.
The 38-year-old frankly admitted on UK television in October that she “really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried.”
But she admitted sadly: “That’s not the point of life. You’ve got to thrive.”
Harry has also been open about still being haunted by his mother’s death in a 1997 car crash involving a chasing pack of paparazzi.
He and Meghan filed a series of lawsuits against British media outlets in October — a step that predictably outraged the tabloids and renewed debates about the royals’ role in public life.
Harry is expected to join Meghan and their male child Archie on a resort island near the southwestern Canadian city of Vancouver this coming week.
Royal observers think they will spend little time in Britain once — in the restrained words of Buckingham Palace — “this new model” takes effect “in the spring of 2020”.
‘Stuck in public’s throats’
The immediate question facing Harry and Meghan is how they will make ends meet.
Sky News said Prince Charles will continue paying his son some money from his private income.
Harry has undisclosed millions of pounds in savings and Meghan has enjoyed a lucrative acting career. She is now thinking of starting her own line of health and “wellness” products.
The Sunday Times asked a royal aide if Harry and Meghan will be able to cash in on the “Sussex Royal” brand they trademarked in December.
“That is still one the areas being worked through,” the royal aide told the paper.
“That translates as: ‘The Queen isn’t at all sure’,” The Sunday Times wrote.
Arbiter observed that Diana’s “global appeal” was in no way affected by her losing the HRH tag.
Some deals are likely to involve Hollywood.
Video footage emerged of Harry highlighting Meghan’s interest in doing voiceover work to a Disney boss in December. There has also been some speculation about the couple teaming up with Netflix.
The Palace said the separate issue of who pays for their pricey security detail will have to be resolved by the UK government at a later date.
But royal biography Penny Junor said the idea of the couple in any way profiting from their royal titles really “stuck in the public’s throats”.
“Harry is who he is simply by accident of birth,” said Junor. “If he was able to make squillions of pounds from that it would be wrong.”
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (R) and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, (L) leave Windsor Castle in Windsor on May 19, 2018 after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House. PHOTO: Steve Parsons / POOL / AFP
Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have agreed to give up their royal titles and stop receiving public funds as part of a settlement with the Queen that lets them spend more private time in Canada.
The announcement from Buckingham Palace on Saturday follows more than a week of intense private talks aimed at managing the fallout of the couple’s shock decision to give up front-line royal duties.
The decision means the couple will stop usings the titles “royal highness” as they assume more ordinary lives that will see them spend more time away from both Britain and the royal family.
“Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family,” Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement.
“I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.”
Her comments referred to battles with the media that prompted Harry and Meghan — known until now as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — to sue several newspapers over intrusions into their private lives.
A separate statement attributed to Buckingham Palace said, “the Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family”.
HRH stands for Her Royal Highness.
“As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for royal duties,” the statement said.
The settlement added that the two will also repay £2.4 million ($3.1 million) of taxpayer’s money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle.
– ‘Progressive new role’ –
The Palace would not comment on who ends up paying for their security detail in Canada — an issue of intense public debate.
It also failed to mention whether the couple would be allowed to benefit financially from future royalties and franchise fees.
Harry and Meghan are seeking to register the “Sussex Royal” brand as a global trademark for their future enterprises.
The couple are dedicated to environmental causes and are looking to develop their charitable foundation as part of a “progressive new role”.
The queen’s announcement is her second on the royal crisis — dubbed Megxit in honour of Britain’s painful battle over Brexit — since Harry and Meghan’s effective resignation on March 8.
“We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” the couple said at the time.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America.”
Meghan then jetted back to Canada and is now there with their son Archie.
Their announcement caught the royal family by surprise and created a media sensation in both Britain and the wider world.
Their treatment by London’s hard-hitting tabloid press and their personal future — as well as questions about longstanding royal traditions — have turned into daily front-page news.
Media reports said Harry would probably join Meghan and Archie on the west coast of Canada this coming week.
– ‘Abdication’ –
The Queen’s final ruling on her grandson’s future drew immediate comparisons to King Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936.
Edward married the American socialite Wallis Simpson the following year and never returned to Britain.
“Harry is not King (he is sixth in line) but tonight this feels like his and Meghan’s own abdication,” ITV television’s royal editor Chris Ship said on Twitter.
“This isn’t 1936. But it’s still pretty big.”
The BBC’s royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said Meghan must also decide whether she intends to return and spend time in Britain in order to gain her UK citizenship.
The couple’s future tax status also remains unclear.
“I think they are feeling their way into this as much as anyone else is,” Witchell said.
The couple will now officially be known formally as “Harry, The Duke of Sussex” and “Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex”.
The Palace statement said the new arrangement “will take effect in the Spring of 2020”.
An arrangement of UK daily newspapers photographed as an illustration in London on January 9, 2020, shows front page headlines reporting on the news that Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, plan to step back as “senior” members of the Royal Family. DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan faced fresh criticism on Tuesday in the wake an emergency royal meeting to discuss their shock announcement to step back from frontline royal duties.
British newspapers raked over Tuesday’s meeting at which Queen Elizabeth II agreed to allow the young couple to split their time between Canada and the UK until a solution was found.
“It means only one thing — Harry and Meghan have won!” royal commentator Philip Dampier wrote in the Daily Express. “They metaphorically held a gun to her head and she has given in.”
The Sun tabloid’s editorial said: “Our Queen’s surrender to the petulant, selfish demands of Harry and Meghan may prove the biggest mistake of her reign.
“This couple have simply raised the bar for self-obsessed, arrogant entitlement.”
The Daily Mirror said the monarch “displayed a selflessness sadly lacking from the way Harry and Meghan have disrespectfully treated her”.
The Daily Telegraph called the decision “The Queen’s reluctant farewell”.
The final decisions on the couple’s future will be thrashed out in the coming days.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they are formally known, unilaterally announced last week they were stepping back as senior royals and wanted financial independence from the monarchy.
The pair, who have a baby son, Archie, have hinted in recent months at their unhappiness about life in the public eye and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he understood their concerns.
“I am a massive fan… of the queen and the royal family as a fantastic asset for our country,” he told BBC television. “I’m absolutely confident that they are going to sort this out.”
‘Complex matters’
Queen Elizabeth, 93, summoned her eldest son and heir Prince Charles, and his two sons Princes William and Harry to her Sandringham estate in eastern England for crisis talks on Monday.
Meghan was in Canada after briefly returning to Britain last week.
In a rare personal statement afterwards, the monarch said the discussions were “very constructive” but admitted the Sussexes’ decision was not what she would have wanted.
“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life,” she said.
“Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the royal family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”
The queen said the Sussexes made clear they did not want to be reliant on public funds, while a transition period had been agreed in which they will spend time in Canada and Britain.
“These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days,” the sovereign said.
Racism to blame?
Harry, 35, is sixth in line to the throne behind 71-year-old Charles, William, 37, and his brother’s three young children.
Meghan, 38, a mixed-race American who had forged her own television acting career, was seen as a breath of fresh air for the royal family when she married Harry at Windsor Castle in May 2018.
But in October last year the couple admitted to struggling with the spotlight following their wedding and Archie’s birth in May 2019.
The couple have lashed out at negative press coverage since their marriage, with Harry claiming British tabloids had mounted a “ruthless” and “malicious” attempt to vilify his wife.
Online and television debate has raged since Wednesday over whether tabloid coverage had been racist towards the duchess.
A YouGov poll suggested that while 46 percent of respondents supported the couple’s decision, 57 percent thought they had treated the queen unfairly in their way of going about it.
Finding funding
How the Sussexes will be funded is one of the key issues to resolve. Five percent of the couple’s income comes from public funds.
The rest comes from Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall hereditary private estate. It dates back to 1337 and has officially reported assets worth £1.1 billion ($1.4 billion, 1.3 billion euros).
The British police meets their security costs.
Besides Britain, Queen Elizabeth is the head of state of Canada and 14 other countries.
The Canadian government has yet to decide whether it will assume the security costs when Harry and Meghan are in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.
Canadian taxpayers have traditionally contributed towards the security costs of royal visits.
Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (R) and Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, host a reception to officially open the 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference at St James’ Palace in London. Tolga AKMEN / AFP / POOL
Princes William and Harry on Monday put on a rare united front to dismiss a “false story” speculating about their relationship, as senior royals meet for talks about the younger brother’s future.
Harry and his wife Meghan caught the institution off guard last week when they announced their intention to step back from frontline royal duties.
The 35-year-old former army officer has previously all but confirmed a rift with his older brother, prompting speculation as to the cause and that it may have influenced his decision to quit.
William and Harry, also known by their formal titles the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, issued a rare joint statement to condemn one report, without specifying the publication.
“Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between The Duke of Sussex and The Duke of Cambridge,” it said.
“For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.”
The Times cited an unnamed “insider” as saying Harry and Meghan felt they had been “pushed away by what they saw as a bullying attitude from the Duke of Cambridge”.
But it also cautioned: “These claims have been strongly contested by sources close to the Cambridges, as well as some close to Prince Harry.”
FILES) In this file photo taken on May 18, 2019 Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (L) and Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, leave St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, Windsor, west of London, on May 18, 2019, after the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston. AFP
Queen Elizabeth II and other senior British royals were gathering for a meeting Monday with Prince Harry in an attempt to solve the crisis triggered by his bombshell announcement that he and wife Meghan were stepping back from the royal frontline.
Harry’s father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, with whom he has strained relations, will join the monarch at her private Sandringham estate in eastern England, according to British media.
Charles just flew back from Oman, where he attended a condolence ceremony following the death of Sultan Qaboos.
Meghan is expected to join the meeting via conference call from Canada as they attempt to work out the “next steps” towards a compromise and nip the growing crisis in the bud.
Issues up for debate include how much money the couple will still receive from Charles’s estate, their royal titles and what commercial deals they can strike, according to the Sunday Times.
The newspaper reported that William believes he and Harry are now “separate entities”, breaking the bonds forged following their mother’s tragic death.
“I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can’t do that any more; we’re separate entities,” the Times reported he told a friend.
The queen attended church at Sandringham on Sunday where supporters expressed sympathy for her, with some members of the public saying Harry and Meghan should not receive any more taxpayer money if they step back from the royal family.
The 93-year-old monarch on Thursday demanded that staff work with the couple to find urgently a “workable solution” that would take into account their demands for more freedom.
Harry, Meghan and son Archie spent Christmas in Canada, with the American former actress returning there this week.
Several Canadian media reported Meghan had returned to Vancouver Island off the country’s Pacific coast, where the family spent the year-end holidays and where baby Archie had remained with his nanny.
Senior royals were caught off guard by Wednesday’s announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wanted to seek a “progressive new role” and divide their time between Britain and North America.
‘Complicated issues’
The queen’s office issued a terse statement the same evening, saying there were “complicated issues that will take time to work through”.
Harry and Meghan said they intended to continue to “fully support” the queen and “collaborate” with senior royals.
They also want to keep their home on the queen’s Windsor Castle estate as their British base, while aiming to become financially independent.
Media reports said Harry and Meghan could conduct a potentially damaging television interview if they are unhappy with the outcome of Sunday’s meeting.
Writing for The Sunday Times, broadcaster Tom Bradby, a friend of Harry and William, said: “I have some idea of what might be aired in a full, no-holds-barred, sit-down interview and I don’t think it would be pretty.”
The younger prince, who has struggled with his role, last year revealed he has been growing apart from his brother, who as second in line to the throne is increasingly pursuing a different path.
Harry has been open about his mental health issues, and he and Meghan last year admitted to struggling with the spotlight following their wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and Archie’s birth a year later.
The couple have also lashed out at negative news coverage — some of which Harry says was racist — in light of Meghan’s biracial heritage.
The British public currently appears to be siding with the family, with a Daily Mail poll showing that a majority believe Harry should give up his right to the throne and be stripped of cash support from the royals or taxpayers.
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex react as they leave after her visit to Canada House in thanks for the warm Canadian hospitality and support they received during their recent stay in Canada, in London. DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / POOL / AFP
Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will step back as senior members of the royal family and spend more time in North America, the couple said in a historic statement Wednesday.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” they said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” they added.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America.”
The shock news follows a turbulent year for the royal family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent Christmas in Canada after speaking of the pressure of being in the spotlight following their wedding and son Archie’s birth in May.
They had previously announced they would miss Christmas with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family, choosing to spend it instead with the duchess’ mother, Doria Ragland.
Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (R) and Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, host a reception at St James’ Palace in London. Tolga AKMEN / AFP / POOL
Britain’s Prince Harry said he and his brother Prince William were on “different paths” and admitted occasional tension in their relationship.
The Duke of Sussex, 35, has been plagued by rumours of a growing rift between him and 37-year-old William, and he acknowledged that “inevitably stuff happens” given their high-profile roles in the royal family.
In an interview with ITV television filmed during his recent tour of southern Africa with his wife Meghan, Harry said: “We are brothers. We will always be brothers.
“We are certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him as I know he will always be there for me.
“We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we are so busy but I love him dearly.
“The majority of the stuff is created out of nothing but as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.”
William and Harry’s close bond was cemented in the aftermath of their mother Diana, princess of Wales’s shock death aged 36 in a 1997 Paris car crash during a paparazzi pursuit.
But while William is one day destined for the throne, Harry — sixth in line and now with his own wife and baby — has begun to strike out on his own.
This year the brothers split their joint offices and charitable foundation and no longer live in close proximity.
Harry and Meghan married in May 2018 and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor was born in May this year.
Press pressure
Meghan, who has also been rumoured to have feuded with William’s wife Kate, said her British friends had warned her not to marry Harry.
“The British tabloids will destroy your life,” she said they told her.
Former US actress Meghan, 38, has faced an increasingly hostile press, with the tabloids luxuriating in stories about her fractured family and rumoured palace rifts.
The couple launched legal action this month against British tabloid The Mail on Sunday for alleged invasion of privacy over a letter to her father. It came with a stinging statement from Harry about general tabloid coverage.
Harry is also suing two newspaper groups over alleged voicemail interception, or phone hacking.
Asked if Meghan was facing the same media pressures as Diana, Harry replied: “I have a family to protect.
“I will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mum.”
Meghan said she had tried to adopt a British “stiff upper lip” but thinks it is internally “really damaging”.
“It’s not enough to just survive something, that’s not the point of life. You have got to thrive.”
Asked if she was “not really OK” and life had “really been a struggle”, she replied simply: “Yes.”
Meanwhile Harry, who has been open about his own past mental health struggles emanating from Diana’s death, said: “It’s constant management. I thought I was out of the woods, and then suddenly it all came back.”
The couple are going to take six weeks off work.
Life in Africa?
During the interview, Harry said that he would like to live in Africa but finding the right place would be difficult.
His grandmother Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth and made Harry her youth ambassador for the 53-country grouping, which includes 19 African states.
“The rest of our lives’ work will be predominantly focused on Africa, on conservation,” said Harry.
“I don’t know where we could live in Africa at the moment.
“We have just come from Cape Town — that would be an amazing place to be able to base ourselves, of course it would, but with all the problems that are going on there, I just don’t see how we would be able to really make as much difference as we want to.”
Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, attends an Anzac Day dawn service at Hyde Park Corner in London. TOBY MELVILLE / POOL / AFP
Meghan Markle is suing Britain’s Mail On Sunday newspaper over the publication of a private letter, her husband Prince Harry has said, warning they had been forced to take action against “relentless propaganda”.
In a stinging rebuke of British tabloid media, the Duke of Sussex described his wife as being hounded by the press in the same way as his mother Princess Diana was before her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.
“My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
Prince Harry said the couple would take legal action over the contents of private letter, which were “published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner”.
Addressing newspaper readers, he said the article had “purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year”.
The statement did not reference a specific letter but earlier this year the tabloid published an article about a handwritten letter that Meghan had sent to her estranged father Thomas Markle.
“Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences — a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” the Duke of Sussex said.
“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face –- as so many of you can relate to –- I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been,” he added.
The statement comes months after George Clooney warned the Duchess of Sussex, who was seven months pregnant at the time, was being “vilified and chased” by the press much like Princess Diana had been.
Britain’s famously aggressive press at first welcomed Markle into the royal fold and the mixed-race actress was credited with breathing fresh life into a monarchy sometimes labelled stale and out of touch.
But coverage has turned increasingly critical and tabloids have luxuriated in stories about Markle’s fractured American family.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex joins the Botswana defence Force (BDF) anti poaching patrol unit in Chobe river to go for a tour in the Chobe National Park in the Chobe district, in the Northern Botswana on September 26, 2019. MONIRUL BHUIYAN / AFP
Britain’s Prince Harry on Monday paid tribute to a British soldier who was killed during an anti-poaching patrol operation in southeastern Malawi.
Guardsman Mathew Talbot, 22, was part of a counter-poaching team conducting patrols with local rangers in Liwonde National Park in May when an elephant charged at them and fatally injured him.
According to Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife, the elephant pulled Talbot from a tree he had climbed and trampled him.
Prince Harry is on a three-day visit to Malawi and during a tour to Liwonde National Park he unveiled a plaque and laid a wreath at the spot where Talbot was killed.
“Anyone who puts themselves in harm’s way while serving their country should be hugely appreciated,” he said.
Prince Harry lauded the collaboration between the UK and Malawi to win the fight against illegal wildlife trade, from tackling poachers on the ground to sentencing them in court.
“This work is successfully rooting out wildlife criminals at every stage and removing the incentive by prioritising punishment,” he said.
In an opinion piece he penned for the UK-based Telegraph newspaper on Monday, Harry emphasised a necessity to restoring the balance between humans and nature.
“Humans and animals and their habitats fundamentally need to co-exist, or within the next 10 years, our problems across the globe will become even more unmanageable,” the conservation advocate wrote.
“It is being in Africa that makes me fully understand and appreciate this,” he added.
Under a metal sculpture made from snares and weapons removed from the park, Harry inducted Liwonde National Park and Mangochi Forest Reserve into the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, a global network of protected forests.
Malawi’s director of wildlife Brighton Kumchedwa said the Duke of Sussex’s visit was a big boost to the aid-dependent country’s tourism industry.
“The visit has managed to raise the profile of Liwonde National Park which is a huge tourism booster as everyone would want to visit a forestry area designated as Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy,” Kumchedwa said.
“But it also gives us the platform for an exchange of good practices but also for possible investment into conservation of natural resources that are in these protected areas.”
Prince Harry (C, left), Duke of Sussex and Meghan (C), Duchess of Sussex, pose with members of “Waves For Change” NGO at Monwabisi Beach outside of Cape Town on September 24, 2019. PHOTO: DAVID HARRISON / AFP
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Tuesday gave a royal boost to South African surfers harnessing the power of the waves to boost mental health in poor communities.
Help through sport — an issue famously close to the prince’s heart — marked the second day of their tour of southern Africa, the first official trip by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since becoming parents to baby Archie in May.
Buffeted by high winds, the couple chatted to members of an NGO called Waves for Change, which uses surfing to help stressed youngsters in Cape Town’s slums find positive thinking and calm.
“Nelson Mandela once said that sport has the power to change the world,” said Thembaletu Mani, 24, one of the mentors who greeted the couple at Monwabisi Beach.
“So that’s what we do here, conquer the challenges through sport.”
Eighty-year-old Wendy Perks and her daughters Jenny and Carol were among those who braved the winds to await the British royals.
Wearing masks of the face of Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, each had a camping chair adorned with a string of small British flags.
“We are the biggest royal fans in the world. We’ve been to Kate and William’s wedding, we’ve been to Meghan and Harry’s wedding, the Queen’s jubilee and the Queen’s 90th birthday,” Jenny Perks told AFP.
“We grew up with Princess Diana, so we just love her boys. She was the people’s princess. We love all the pomp and ceremony. Proudly royal and proudly British, and South African.”
She added: “We’re guessing Meghan will have a pony tail and jeans because it’s far too windy for a dress.”
That prediction turned out to be spot-on. The duchess emerged from a luxury 4×4 clad in black trousers and a denim jacket with a white blouse, while Harry wore dark trousers and a green shirt.
Charity meals
The couple also saw the work of The Lunchbox Fund, which provides nearly 30,000 meals to poor children each day.
The charity is one of four organisations chosen by the Sussexes to benefit from donations made by the public when Archie was born.
Surfing-clad volunteers then invited the royal couple to join them in a dance, followed by a brief session of meditation, seated in a circle on the beach.
Annelissa Mhloli, a 24-year-old surf coach, sat between Harry and Meghan.
“It was amazing because of how chilled and welcoming they were,” Mhloli said afterwards. “They made me feel so comfortable.”
The star of the visit — little Archie — has so far been out of sight, to the chagrin of royal-watchers.
The family arrived in Cape Town on Monday, immediately setting the tone of their visit to South Africa with a show of support for victims of gender violence.
South Africa is one of the world’s most dangerous places, particularly for women. At least 137 sexual offences are committed per day, according to official figures. In August alone, more than 30 women were killed by their spouses.
The family is to remain together until Wednesday, when Harry will travel alone to Botswana, Angola and Malawi.
He will visit conservation and HIV prevention projects, and a cleared minefield in Angola through which his late mother Princess Diana famously crossed in 1997.
The duchess will remain in South Africa. She and Archie will reunite with Harry in Johannesburg next week, where they will complete the tour and fly back on October 2.
