Prince William may want to pay "close attention" to the recent drama that has engulfed Prince Harry's involvement with a charity in Africa, as discussions grow about the colonial and potentially racist roots of conservation charity work in the region, a new episode of Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast has discussed.
Conservation work in Africa was pulled into public focus last month when it was revealed that Prince Harry accepted a spot on the board of directors of the charity Africa Parks, after the group Survival International wrote a letter to him detailing alleged abuses conducted by the organization's rangers against Baka tribespeople in the Republic of Congo.
Harry became honorary president of the charity in 2017, with Survival International writing to him about their concerns in May 2023. Four months later it was announced that the prince had been promoted to the board of directors.
After a newspaper expose of the letter and Survival International's concerns about Africa Parks, a spokesperson for Harry's Archewell Foundation said in a statement: "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 charity has since launched an investigation into the worrying allegations.
Though the main discourse surrounding this case has been directed at the ranger allegations and Harry's role at the charity, the prince's brother, William, may want to take notice as Survival International has also broadened the subject to discuss the colonial roots of conservation work on the continent, chief royal correspondent Jack Royston told Royal Report listeners.
"William might want to just pay a little bit of close attention here because he obviously has involvement in conservation organizations as well," he said. "Survival International appears to have a much broader criticism to make of the way that conservation is practiced in the 21st century. That doesn't only relate to Africa Parks."
The group described abuses of African tribespeople in the name of conservation as a "systematic pattern" that arises from "abusive, colonialist and racist structures."
"Many conservation organizations adhere to a colonialist model of 'fortress conservation,' in which Indigenous peoples—far from being recognized as the best conservationists—are evicted from their ancestral land to make way for 'parks' and are kept out by paramilitary-trained guards, leading to terrible human rights violations," the group said.
This, Royston suggests, could highlight the works being undertaken by other organizations in Africa, many of which have links with the British royals—including William.
"The big picture disputes here may have some relevance beyond the Congo, just in terms of the need to respect local tribespeople and not view them as part of the problem," Royston said.
Among the organizations with operations in Africa that have links to William are Tusk, a conservation charity that he became royal patron of in 2005, and the Royal African Society.
As brothers, William and Harry's dual charitable interests in Africa were pulled into public focus in 2023 when Harry revealed a past argument that had taken place over who had the right to undertake work in the area, in his memoir Spare.
Describing a resentment that Harry felt his brother held towards him over charity work, the prince said that they had once come close to a largescale argument over the subject.
After stating his desire to work with veterans charities to form the Invictus Games, a core working focus for Harry alongside interests in Africa, he wrote: "One small problem: Willy. Africa was his thing, he said. And he had the right to say this, or felt he did, because he was the heir.
"It was ever in his power to veto my thing, and he had every intention of exercising, even flexing, that veto power."
He continued that there "had some real rows about it," and, "one day, we almost came to blows in front of our childhood mates."
"One of the sons asked: 'Why can't you both work on Africa?'" he wrote.
"Willy had a fit, flew at this son for daring to make such a suggestion. 'Because rhinos, elephants, that's mine!' It was all so obvious. He cared less about finding his purpose or passion than about winning his lifelong competition with me."
In line with a blanket "no comment" position adopted by Buckingham Palace, William did not publicly respond to claims made by Harry in his memoir. The account of the argument over which prince could do charity work in Africa was criticized by commentators who said that it in itself was "super colonial."
Newsweek approached Kensington Palace via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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