Prince Harry makes huge announcement on awkward diary clash with estranged William

It has been revealed that while Prince William is in Brazil as part of his Earthshot Prize Awards this week, Prince Harry will also be embarking on a major trip too

Prince Harry has announced a major tour to Canada this week, at the exact moment his brother Prince William arrived in Rio de Janeiro for a key visit

William was met by cheers from an enthusiastic crowd on top of the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain to launch his prestigious Earthshot Prize awards coming to Latin America for the first time. William is taking part in three days of engagements in Rio before a glittering ceremony in the city on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning he travels to Belem, described as the gateway to the Amazon, to attend the COP climate conference alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Now it has been revealed that the Duke of Sussex, who is embroiled in a bitter rift with his brother will be in Toronto, for a series of events with veterans – at the same as William celebrates his Earthshot PrIze award winners and attends COP30 in Belem.

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 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 commutations “as a courtesy”.

Harry, who had a long military career and served on two tours of duty in Afghanistan, used to be a firm fixture at the Remembrance Sunday service attended by all of the royals at the Cenotaph in London. But since he and wife Meghan dramatically quit their royal roles, they have not taken part in the ceremony since 2019.

To mark Remembrance Day in the UK and Veterans Day in the US last year, he paid tribute to veterans, reaffirming his “lifelong admiration and appreciation” for their “service and sacrifice”. He also praised veterans for having played a “vital role in defending the values of liberty, freedom, and security”, saying: “These values bind us together and have shaped you as leaders and role models.”

Harry last took part in Remembrance Sunday in 2019. In 2020, he was said to be “saddened and disappointed” not to have had a wreath laid on his behalf at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, a book claimed.

When he stepped down as a working royal, Harry was stripped of his military posts, including his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines. It was reported at the time Harry’s wreath had been made but after his request was refused, it laid unused in a box at the Royal British Legion’s Kent HQ.

But in the biography Finding Freedom, it is claimed his request was denied because he was no longer a “frontline royal”. Instead, Harry and Meghan chose to pay their own tribute and were snapped laying a wreath at the Los Angeles National Cemetery and placing flowers on the graves of two Commonwealth soldiers.

The wreath was inscribed: “In Memory of the Men Who Offered Their Lives in Defense of Their Country”. On it, Harry had written: “To all those who have served, and are serving. Thank you.”