Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to Ukraine to support the rehabilitation of those wounded by the war, but the worthy visit might increase tensions with his older brother, Prince William
In a surprise move, Prince Harry has travelled to Kyiv with the Invictus Foundation, visiting wartorn Ukraine after spending four days in the UK.
The Duke of Sussex reunited with his father, King Charles, while he was back on home soil, and the pair spent nearly an hour together at Clarence House, marking the first time they had met in person in 19 months.
However, his strained relationship with his older brother Prince William shows no signs of easing any time soon. Both siblings were busy with engagements during Harry’s visit, at one point just eight miles apart, but no meeting between the once-close duo was scheduled.
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Harry’s visit to Kyiv, where important government buildings were hit by Russian missiles last weekend, comes just months after he visited the country previously, spending time at the Superhuman Trauma Centre in Lyiv, which works with amputees.
After a chance encounter with the CEO of the centre in New York, Olga Rudnieva, it was suggested he visit Kyiv itself, which is far closer to the conflict than Lyiv.
He has explained that he requested permissioned from the UK government for the trip, as well as checking with Meghan it was all right with her, before the Ukrainian government officially invited him.
Harry’s been a dedicated supporter of wounded veterans since leaving the Armed Forces himself, launching the Invictus Games to promote the healing power of sport for former servicepeople back in 2014.
However, his first visit to Ukraine is said to have left his older brother, Prince William, “fuming” at palace officials.
William’s also been a massive supporter of Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022, but he was reportedly blocked from visiting the country itself on the grounds of “security concerns” in 2024.
He has been allowed to visit Poland, where he met with British soldiers and thanked them for “defending our freedoms”. He also visited Estonia, where he got the chance to speak with Ukrainian refugees and visit an army base that’s a crucial strategic point in NATO’s eastern flank.
However, the future King was told in no uncertain terms, the Daily Mail reported, that he wouldn’t be able to visit Ukraine itself. Despite the fact he had “long-hoped” to go, it was “firmly rejected” as a possibility, with the heir to the throne expressing his displeasure to Kensington Palace staff, “rankled” by the fact his younger brother had gone.
The different fates of the two brothers has long caused contention between them. Harry’s role as the ‘spare’ to William’s heir is so much a part of his understanding of himself that he even made it the title of his bombshell memoir, released in 2023.
Harry writes in the book that rivalry and competitiveness were present in the brothers’ relationship from their early childhood, even calling William his “beloved brother and arch nemesis”.
In an interview promoting the book, Harry claimed he believed his brother was jealous of his position, saying, “I have more freedom than he does, right? So his life is planned out for him. I have more flexibility to be able to choose the life that I wanted.”
In his memoir, Harry also wrote that William had once hoped to go to the “front lines” just as the Duke of Sussex did in his two tours of Afghanistan, but the palace had “scuttled his plans”.
“I was training to get to the front line, the same place Willy had been training to get, but the Palace had scuttled his plans,” he wrote. “The Spare, sure, let him run around a battlefield like a chicken with its head cut off, if that’s what he likes.”
