Princes William and Harry appeared to be the closet of siblings before Meghan Markle arrived on the scene in 2016.
The Duchess of Sussex has long been seen as the catalyst for the brother’s bitter fall-out — but a new report claims they were already at odds over their differing approaches to charity work.
An explosive piece published by The Times of London on Saturday cites several palace sources who say the siblings squabbled over the best way to address the conservation of African wildlife.
“They are both very passionate about saving protected species but didn’t always share the same view about how to run projects in Africa,” one insider explained.
“William believes you should focus on community-led schemes where local people over time feel empowered to protect the land,” they continued.
The source then added that Harry “on the other hand, was more interventionist.”
“He felt that you need a more hands-on approach to ensure wildlife habitats were securely protected to enact change quickly,” they stated.
In his memoir “Spare,” Harry last year hinted that William felt ownership over conservation projects and was perhaps annoyed by his little brother’s interest in the same field.
He wrote that when mutual friends asked he and Willian why they wanted to work in Africa, William responded: “Because rhinos, elephants, that’s mine!”
Harry has been president of the African Parks non-profit since 2017.
However, the conservation organization has recently hit headlines after allegations that rangers employed by African Parks raped and beat indigenous people.
There have seen been calls for Harry to part ways with the organization.
“Harry has neither the tools nor experience to navigate his way through such crises,” an insider told the outlet.
Harry’s camp told Daily Mail regarding the allegations: “When the duke became aware of these serious allegations, he immediately escalated them to the CEO and chairman of the board of African Parks, the appropriate people to handle next steps.”
The organization also responded to the claims, explaining that they have “a zero-tolerance policy for any form of abuse.”
Markle and Harry decided to take a step back as senior members of the royal family in January 2020 and they moved across the pond to Montecito, Calif.
This move has escalated tensions within the royal family in recent years.