The Duke of Sussex raised eyebrows when he made a trip announcement just minutes after his brother completed his first engagement during a historic trip to Brazil
Prince Harry has been slammed as ‘predictable’ after once again going head-to-head with his brother, Prince William.
Just minutes after the future King completed his first engagement in Brazil on Monday, Harry announced a trip of his own – to Toronto to meet with veterans, members of the armed forces community and military charities.
His visit coincides directly with William’s major visit to Brazil for the fifth anniversary of his environmental award – something CNN’s royal commentator Victoria Arbiter described as “inevitable if not predictable”.
She noted how in 2022 during William’s visit to Boston for the Earthshot Prize Awards, the trailer for Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series dropped. Similarly, in 2023, while William was attending the awards in Singapore, Harry delivered a message at the Stand Up for Heroes event in New York City.
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And again, in November 2024, while his brother championed the Earthshot Awards in Cape Town, Harry also made a surprise appearance at the Pat Tillman Foundation’s 20th annual Tillman Honours gala in Chicago. A social media user commented: “Funny how Harry’s ‘announcements’ ALWAYS coincide with Earthshot Awards.” Another added: “Very predictable like clockwork.”
However, it’s understood there was a logistical reason for Harry’s announcement this week. According to Hello, his visit to Canada was months in the making, with the date set by the charity, not Harry. Security considerations also planned a part in the timings. Harry no longer holds IPP status after stepping back from royal duties and, “as such he is not afforded the same level of security and protection as other ‘working’ members of the royal family,” a source said, noting that the announcement happened because of a truncated time period in which Harry’s engagements can be revealed due to security.
Harry’s visit begins on Wednesday – the same day as William’s 2025 Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony, which is taking place on November 5 at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro. The Prince of Wales will then travel to Belém to attend the COP30 World Leaders Summit on behalf of his father, King Charles.
Monday was a jam-packed day of engagements in Rio de Janeiro for William, who tried his hand at football and volleyball to the delight of excited locals. The Prince travelled to the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where he celebrated smashing a penalty with a group of high-fiving youngsters.
William was joined by Brazilian football legend and double World Cup winner Cafú for his trip to the sporting arena, where they met children learning about the environment and climate change through the sport based organisation Terra FC. When the future King first arrived pitch-side he met a group of volunteers from the project using football to connect with young people, and asked them: “My team’s Aston Villa, have you heard of them – you don’t have to say yes!”
William ended his football drills by taking a penalty against goalie Pedro Enrique, 14, and was mobbed by youngsters wanting a high-five after he scored. The 14-year-old said afterwards: “I was scared and nervous but very excited as he was the most famous person to take a penalty kick. I didn’t let him score. It was a good penalty.”
Before concluding his first day in Brazil, William also took part in a game of volleyball with players from a local beach volleyball school run by Brazilian Olympian, Carolina Solberg. The school, known as the Levante Institute, aims to transform the lives of children from disadvantaged communities through sport.
William ditched his shoes and took to the sand and threw himself into the game, saying to his opposition: “Hi guys, be nice.” Jumping to make sure he hit the ball over the net during the 10-minute sunset game, William even dropped to his knees in the sand to nail the shot.
He rotated positions as he showed his prowess at the sport, with scores of well-wishers cheering him on as he got stuck in, and told his teammates that his height helped. When someone attempted to break him away from the game, he joked: “We’ll be here all night you guys, talk amongst yourselves.”
Carolina Solberg, 38, Olympic beach volleyball player, was paired with the Prince in the game and praised William’s skills saying he had “a lot of energy”. She said: “He’s tall. He can hit. I think he could be really good if he practiced more. I think he was having fun and it was amazing to play with him. It was such a pleasure.” When asked if he could join her team, she said: “Yeah, for sure. He’s in!”
