Dame Jane Goodall thinks Prince Harry will stop hunting now - which can only be a good thing
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- Anna Brech
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Prince Harry is set to give up the royal traditions of hunting and shooting because of his wife Meghan Markle’s aversion to blood sports, according to the couple’s friend, primatologist Dame Jane Goodall.
Prince Harry has been brought up in the tradition of hunting and shooting, including the annual Boxing Day hunt on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. However, it seems that his wife’s enlightened views may have nudged forward a change of heart on the issue that is likely long overdue.
In an interview with the Radio Times, anthropologist Dame Jane Goodall, who is famed for her conservation work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, said Harry and his brother William were big fans of the natural world “except they hunt and shoot”.
“But I think Harry will stop because Meghan doesn’t like hunting, so I suspect that is over for him,” Goodall, who is a family friend of the couple, added.
Goodall also indicated that Harry and Meghan weren’t yet fully adjusted to their new life in Los Angeles. The couple relocated to the city with their baby son Archie after stepping back from their royal duties earlier this year.
“I don’t know how his career is going to map out, but yes, I’ve been in touch, though I think he’s finding life a bit challenging just now,” Goodall remarked of Harry.
It was announced in February that the pair would drop their HRH titles and “no longer receive public funds” as part of their move away from the royal household.
It’s not known whether the challenges Goodall refers to come from the transition into a new kind of life in California, or the additional pressure of doing so at a time when the state (and indeed, most of the world) is on lockdown due to coronavirus.
In a post on their Sussex Royal Instagram account last month, Meghan and Harry said “the world at this moment seems extraordinarily fragile”.
They vowed to help fight the pandemic, saying: “We are confident that every human being has the potential and opportunity to make a difference — as seen now across the globe, in our families, our communities and those on the front line — together we can lift each other up to realise the fullness of that promise.”
A spokesperson said the couple would spend the next few months focusing on family life in California, as well as developing a future non-profit organisation.
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