Prince Harry Says Toronto Visit Was Not an Attempt to Upstage Prince William — Cites Security Constraints

Harry denies suggestion his Canada trip was timed to upstage William

Prince Harry has firmly rejected claims that his recent visit to Toronto was intended to upstage his brother, Prince William. The Duke of Sussex’s team told the Daily Mail that the timing of the Remembrance Day engagement was dictated by security constraints and the charity’s schedule, not by a desire to compete with the Prince of Wales.

While Prince William traveled to Rio de Janeiro to mark the fifth anniversary of the Earthshot Prize and attend the United Nations Climate Summit COP30, Harry was in Canada for Remembrance Day ceremonies and events supporting veterans.

Statement from the Duke’s team: "It means, therefore, that the period of time in which we can release details of events is much more truncated than it is for His Majesty the King or the Prince of Wales. The events were planned nearly a year ago. The date of the main event, the dinner, is set by the charity, not Prince Harry. He can’t choose to move those dates. We are always guided — as to when we can announce trips like this, by the advice given to us by his private security advisers and the event’s security team."

Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from senior royal duties and moved to California in 2020. That decision — together with a high-profile interview with Oprah Winfrey and Harry’s memoir, Spare — has strained relations between the brothers and with their father, King Charles.

This clarification from Harry’s team aims to address suggestions made by royal commentator Victoria Arbiter that his announcement was "inevitable if not predictable." The Duke’s spokesperson emphasized that limited security arrangements require a narrower public announcement window than those available to senior working royals.

Source: Daily Mail; reporting references NewsNation coverage of family tensions following the Sussexes’ 2020 departure and subsequent publications.