Prince Harry started his trip to Canada today for a series of Remembrance-related events in Toronto – just as Prince William’s Earthshot Prize Awards was about to begin
Prince Harry kicked off a major trip to Canada today – just hours before Prince William’s Earthshot Prize Awards began. Harry, who is embroiled in a bitter rift with his older brother, has travelled to Toronto, for a series of events with veterans ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
He met with veterans who were formerly in the Canadian Armed Forces before attending private lunch convened by the charity True Patriot Love, where he discussed veterans’ issues. Harry’s trip to Canada comes just days after it was announced, right as his brother William kicked off his historic trip to Brazil for his environmental awards.
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As William arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and visited Sugarloaf Mountain, the announcement was made Harry would be in Canada. A spokesman for Prince Harry said: “This week, during the annual period of Remembrancetide, Prince Harry will travel to Toronto, Canada.
“There, he will meet with veterans, members of the armed forces community and military charities. This visit, months in the planning, marks a return to a city that has a special place in the Duke’s heart, having played host to the Invictus Games back in 2017.”
Sources close to Harry said the timing of the announcement, at the exact moment Prince William arrived in Rio, was unavoidable due to Harry being stripped of his security when he left his role as a working member of the royal family. The source claimed the period of time in which Harry and Meghan can release details of their events is much more truncated than it is for the King or William.
The source added that the Sussexes’ team was purely guided on advice given to them by their private security advisors. A spokesman for the Sussexes confirmed they had informed royal communications “as a courtesy”. Meanwhile, earlier today, Harry expressed his pride at fighting for his country, his love of the “things that make us British”, and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten “once the uniform comes off”.
Former soldier Harry, who undertook two frontline tours to Afghanistan, has penned a passionate essay ahead of Remembrance Day, in which he describes the privilege of serving alongside men and women from all four corners of the UK.
He calls on people to remember “not only the fallen, but the living” who carry the “weight of war” and urges them to knock on veterans’ doors and “join them for a cuppa…or a pint” to hear their stories and “remind them their service still matters”.
In a personal 647-word piece titled “The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British – By Prince Harry”, the duke acknowledges although he “currently” lives in the US, he reflects that “Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for”.
It is understood Harry’s words were released this morning to avoid drawing focus away from William’s major speech at the Cop30 climate talks in the Amazon tomorrow, and from Remembrance events such as the Field of Remembrance on Thursday, the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday and commemorations at the Cenotaph on Sunday.
Harry is said to have wanted to use his message to speak directly to the men and women around the UK who he served alongside.
He is said to strongly feel that, although the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts may be over and the operational tempo has slowed, with many troops having hung up their uniforms, he has not forgotten them and nor should the wider British public.
