Prince William and Prince Harry witnessed the power members of the Royal Family can wield in helping others from a very young age. Both the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex have matured a widespread network of charity contacts and have fostered their connections by embarking on several tours abroad. But a new documentary highlighted the very different approach Prince William and Prince Harry have developed when it comes to working with the charities and activists they support.
Glynis Barber, narrator to Channel 5’s documentary ‘Secrets of the Royals on Tour’, said: “Both brothers have remodelled the royal tour though for the King-in-waiting a more symbolic approach is still needed.
“As the future King of England and leader of the Commonwealth, William has expanded the royal tour to showcase Britain’s relationship with its diplomatic allies.”
Ms Barber continued: “Harry and William’s joint tour in 2010 gave a first indication of how the brothers would seek to rebrand the image of the royals abroad.
“Since then they have made more than 90 official trips abroad, reshaping the tours to focus less on royal pageantry and more on their charity work. Like his mother, Princess Diana, Prince Harry’s tours have focused on humanitarian issues.”
Simon Vigar, royal correspondent for 5 News, echoed Ms Barber’s assessment and conceded Prince William is required to include “duller” moments on his tours rather than being able to focus fully on what interests him like Prince Harry.
Mr Vigar said: “For William and Kate it is a little but more formal.
“There are definitely some of Diana’s charities that William is promoting when he goes on royal tours. But he is going to have to do more of the dull stuff on a royal tour, the diplomacy, the trade missions.”
The royal expert continued: “What William and Harry have developed is the public tour, the one we see, and then the private tours, the private trips they make behind the scenes.
“Harry has spent weeks and weeks in Africa, directly working on conservation projects. That feeds into what they want to do publicly. “William and Harry, they want to do less in terms of spreading themselves thinly, they want to target what they are doing.”
Former press secretary to the Queen Dicki Arbiter suggested the Duke of Sussex had been able to follow more in his late mother’s footsteps compared to his older brother.
Mr Arbiter said: “Harry is probably more like his mother in his approach to things.
“But he’s developed his own personality. He is his own man.”