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Prince Harry is kickstarting a mini-tour in Canada for “Remembrancetide” - right as Prince William takes centre stage at his “Super Bowl” royal event, the Earth Shot prize, a little over 8000 kilometres away in Brazil. It’s not the first time the estranged brothers’ diaries have clashed in a very high-profile fashion – many will remember Harry and Meghan’s explosive Netflix docu-series trailer dropping while William and Kate were in Boston for the 2022 Earthshot Prize – and it’s once again raising eyebrows. Ahead of his arrival in Toronto on Wednesday, Canadian time, Harry released an emotional message about what it means to be “British”, with a nod to “the banter of the mess, the clubhouse, the pub, the stands – ridiculous as it sounds, these are the things that make us British”. He added: “I make no apology for it. I love it”. It was part of a 647-word personal essay written by the Duke of Sussex ahead of Remembrance Day, titled “The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British.” Elsewhere, Harry gave a nod to his visit to Ukraine in September, remarking on the “stoic spirit of self-deprecation and humour” he saw in the local soldiers, which reminded him of “us Brits”. “Though currently, I may live in the United States, Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for,” he wrote. MORE: ‘Lonely’: Insiders lift lid on Harry’s sad life Meanwhile, his brother is in the midst of his annual five-day Earthshot Prize tour, which this year is being hosted by Brazil, ahead of the UN’s COP30 global environmental conference. After a tumultuous few weeks caused by the scandals engulfing their uncle Andrew, the Prince of Wales has clearly been keen to shake off the negativity and focus on his environmental initiative. MORE: Prince William’s $1.5bn empire revealed However, at the exact moment he arrived in Rio de Janeiro this week, the announcement of Harry’s Toronto tour also landed. The duke was invited to the events of “Remembrancetide” – taking place in the two-week period leading up to Remembrance Sunday – “months ago”, with his spokesman telling The Times UK that Buckingham Palace was “consulted” as a “matter of courtesy”. It’s understood the reason Harry’s pre-trip announcements are more truncated than those of working royals is a result of his adjusted security arrangements, which occurred after he moved to the US. On Wednesday, Harry is meeting with veterans, members of the armed force community, and military charities in Toronto, around roughly the same time as William hosts his Earthshot Prize Awards. William is then set to head to Belem, in the Amazon rainforest, on Thursday for COP30 where he will deliver a landmark speech on behalf of the King and the UK government. Meanwhile, Harry will be touring one of Canada’s largest veteran care facilities, the Sunnybrook Health Care Facilities, before attending the True Patriot Love national tribute fundraising dinner. It’s the country’s largest celebration in support of military members, veterans and their families. While the brothers’ duelling schedules generate headlines overseas, the controversy surrounding Andrew Mounbatten Windsor is refusing to die down back in their home country. Days after the Palace announced he was no longer to be styled as “Prince” and was being formally removed from Royal Lodge, unseen footage of a BBC interview with his accuser, the late Virginia Giuffre, has aired in the UK, sharing new insights into her alleged meeting with the former royal. “I was a toy. I was there to be passed around,” Ms Giuffre told the interviewer on Panorama. “But I was still a human being with feelings and emotion and sadness. And to know that this man had daughters, that he was still capable of abusing me. It’s … it just doesn’t make sense.” Andrew has always vehemently denied the allegations made against him.
