Prince William Reportedly “Has No Plans to Answer Questions” About Brother Prince Harry While in the U.S. Next Week

Prince William is headed to New York City next week, and as can be expected, the U.S. media is clamoring for interviews with him. There is one topic, The Mirror reports, that is strictly off limits—his brother, Prince Harry, with whom William has had an ongoing rift for years. William hasn’t been stateside since last December, when he and Princess Catherine visited Boston for the Earthshot Prize Awards, about one month before the release of Harry’s memoir, Spare, in January, which largely takes aim at the Prince of Wales.

William will be in the Big Apple for two days, where he will unveil the 15 finalists for this year’s Earthshot Prize Awards, to be held in Singapore in November. The New York City visit also coincides with New York Climate Change Week. “Prince William reportedly has no plans to answer questions about his bitter feud with brother Prince Harry,” The Mirror reports.

The Sunday Times reports that all of the major television networks in the U.S. have bid for an interview with William, but “the future King has reportedly flat out refused to answer questions about his younger brother,” The Mirror reports. 

“This trip is part of his evolution as a global statesman, which is incredibly important, especially since becoming Prince of Wales,” an aide said. “He and his courtiers have been thinking about how to manage that transition from Duke of Cambridge to the next King. The U.S. is very important to him. The world’s climate movers and shakers will be in New York having conversations about the future of the planet, and the prince is keen to be part of those conversations and put Earthshot front and center.”

William was scheduled to be in New York City last September for the inaugural Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit but was forced to cancel as the planned visit fell during the royal mourning period for Queen Elizabeth, who died last September 8. Instead, he recorded a video that was played at the event, in which he said “During this time of grief, I take great comfort in your continued enthusiasm, optimism, and commitment to the Earthshot Prize and what we are trying to achieve,” he said. “Protecting the environment was a cause close to my grandmother’s heart, and I know she would have been delighted to hear about this event and the support you are all giving our Earthshot finalists—the next generation of environmental pioneers. Together in this room are the people and organizations who will help us to achieve the Earthshot mission: to repair, restore, and rejuvenate our planet within this current decade. That mission is not simple.”

The summit next week will bring together previous Earthshot Prize winners and finalists with policymakers, global business leaders, philanthropists, and climate activists to scale their innovative solutions. And, as William will be working on his life’s work of environmentalism in the U.S. next week, Harry is currently in Europe taking part in his own life’s work, the Invictus Games, which kicked off in Germany over the weekend and runs through next Saturday.