Prince Harry has refuted claims that he intentionally sought to overshadow Prince William’s visit to Brazil with his own trip to Canada, but Palace insiders are now challenging his account of events regarding the scheduling conflict.

On November 5, the Duke of Sussex issued a firm statement asserting that the royal household had been courteously informed in advance of his plans to travel to Toronto while his brother was in Rio de Janeiro.

However, several sources now argue that Harry’s announcement took royal aides by surprise, causing some discontent within the Palace.

The controversy erupted when Harry announced his visit to Toronto for ‘Remembrancetide’ just as Prince William arrived on Sugarloaf Mountain.

Prince William had just touched down in Brazil for a five-day tour aimed at promoting his Earthshot Prize initiative when his younger brother made his travel plans public.

While one royal expert described the scheduling conflict as ‘predictable,’ a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex quickly dismissed notions of sibling rivalry, reiterating that the royals were informed beforehand ‘as a courtesy.’

But Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace reportedly never received this courtesy call or email, sources claim, raising questions about whether it was ever sent.

A royal source told The Times that internally it had been considered ‘a bit rum’ of Harry’s team to claim the Palace had been informed when nobody in London appeared to know about his Canada trip until it was released to the press. 

Prince Harry delivers remarks at the True Patriot Love’s National Tribute Dinner in Toronto on a trip his spokesman said was shared in advance with the Palace – but it appears recollections reportedly vary

The Prince of Wales during a ‘Welcome to Rio’ event at Sugarloaf Mountain around the time Harry announced his own pseudo-royal tour to Canada

A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex has not said, when asked by the Daily Mail and other publications, when they informed the royal household about Canada and who at the Palace was told.

Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have been asked to comment. 

People in the US claimed it ‘caught palace aides by surprise’. 

It marks another row involving Harry after the headlines relating to photo-gate where images of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex partying at Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party were mysteriously deleted.

The Duke of Sussex’s return to Canada came after his historic Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, which marked the event’s first-ever winter edition earlier this year. 

His pseudo-royal tour ended with a glittering gala for veterans where he used his speech to speak of his bond with the Commonwealth nation’s troops and crack jokes about his ‘ever-increasing bald spot’.

But it also clashed with his older brother Prince William’s five-day trip to Brazil to promote his Earthshot Prize, although Harry insists it was not deliberate.

William diplomatically declined to discuss the Royal Family’s current woes in public – but did speak of his desire to surround himself with people ‘who want to do good’.

The Prince of Wales would not be drawn on the rows caused by his uncle Andrew and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a ‘fireside’ chat with CNN on his Earthshot Prize trip to Brazil.

Veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour asked the heir to the throne about his recent comments that he would pursue ‘change for good’ when he is king.

Ms Amanpour pointed to William’s recent Apple TV interview with Eugene Levy and asked if could expand on his comments ‘given there has been a lot of change in your family recently’.

However, William batted away the apparent nod to the decision to strip Andrew of all his titles and home, as well as the rift with Harry and Meghan over Megxit.

Without hesitation he decided instead to focus on Earthshot and praised ‘the brilliant people in this room’, calling them ‘action heroes’ and declaring: ‘Change will come from backing them not by what I do’.

But to cheers from the audience he did add: ‘I want to surround myself with people who want to make change and do good in the world’.

Royal watchers have praised his decision to stay quiet. ‘Unlike Harry, William doesn’t air the family laundry in public’, one said. 

Prince William took part in a ‘fireside chat’ at Earthshot in Brazil but batted away questions about the Royal Family

During a ‘fireside chat’ with CNN’s Ms Amanpour, William, 43, spoke of being positive for his own children and young people around the world – rather than his family

William was speaking as he prepared for Earthshot’s awards ceremony, where stars including Shawn Mendes and Kylie Minogue turned out to support him in the first week of November.

Meanwhile Harry was heading to Canada.

Dressed in black tie and wearing his service medals, Harry entered True Patriot Love’s National Tribute Dinner in Toronto alongside veterans on November 6.

After bagpipes played, the Duke then spoke on stage about his personal connection with Canada’s military, from his training in Alberta to serving alongside Canadian Armed Forces members during his deployment in Afghanistan.

There were also laughs as he said sorry over the row over his and Meghan’s decision to wear LA Dodgers caps at the World Series instead of supporting Toronto’s Blue Jays.

‘I am truly sorry for wearing a Dodgers hat’, he said, before joking that the cap had also helped hide how much his hair is thinning.  There were more guffaws in the crowd of 500 when he made a gag about the lights on bouncing off his bald spot.

He said: ‘Before I begin, I think it’s important we address the blue hatted elephant in the room once more. No excuses, but there were two reasons for wearing it. First, our host that night was the owner of the Dodgers and I believed it was the polite thing to do. Second, the 900,000-watt floodlights shining down on an ever-increasing bald spot’.

He also defended his wife, Meghan: ‘As for my wife, she lived in Toronto for years and has deep affection for this city, so much so that many people around the world believe she’s Canadian, so I think we can forgive a native Californian for her Dodgers loyalty, even if just for one evening’.

True Patriot Love is run by Nick Booth, a former aide to Harry and William, and the organisation has been a major backer of the Invictus Games movement.