When the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, finally stepped onto the stage at one of the Hilton Toronto’s bustling conference rooms, the anticipation had reached a fever pitch. Attendees at the Ontario Real Estate Association’s (OREA) annual Power House Conference were eager to hear what insights a “real-life prince” might offer to a gathering of real estate professionals. The Daily Mail was on hand to capture Harry’s keynote address, curious about what someone residing in far-off Montecito, California, could contribute to discussions about Ontario’s pressing housing issues.

The attendees learned that the ‘quintessential dream of home ownership’ is slipping away for many in Ontario. A staggering 68 percent of residents are anxious about affording basic necessities, while 70 percent are postponing significant life decisions due to financial pressures. OREA President Cathy Polan expressed her ‘royal excitement’ as she kicked off the event. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who previously told Harry and his wife Meghan they were welcome in Canada but without taxpayer-funded security, addressed the crowd about affordable housing. He also took the opportunity to criticize Donald Trump, attributing the rising cost of living to the former president’s tariffs.

Premier Ford, as the event’s inaugural speaker, anticipated a day filled with insights from ‘change-makers, politicians, analysts, professionals, academics… and Prince Harry.’ Kathleen Wynne, the 25th Premier of Ontario, delivered an impassioned speech on pressing issues such as homelessness, the opioid crisis, and the struggles of middle-class families searching for affordable housing. Shortly after 3:30 p.m., the much-anticipated moment arrived. Around 400 attendees watched eagerly as Prince Harry took his seat for a ‘fireside chat’ to offer guidance to an industry beset by challenges. What pearls of wisdom would he share?

‘I’m not here to give advice,’ he said. ‘Especially not in housing.’ Nor, despite the building excitement that had preceded his arrival, was he there to be videoed or photographed, as all the other esteemed speakers had been. Filming Cathy Polan’s introductory words – before the prince had even emerged onto the stage – was enough to see me escorted from the room and forced to delete the offending footage. Later, Harry revealed that his aversion to photography extends to his pets – one of his favorite things, he shared, is walking his black Labrador, Pula. But when enchanted Americans ask if they can take a picture of her his response is, ‘No. No you can’t.’

‘Being seen and heard is the most important thing for people,’ he said at one point. And so, for $299 (CAD) a head to OREA members or $499 (CAD) for non-members, the Power House attendees were treated to roughly twenty minutes of Prince Harry’s musings. Replying to that question regarding advice for a profession in crisis the prince continued: ‘I come from a unique standpoint, a unique upbringing, a life of service and I will always be part of what I was born into. ‘I made the conscious decision to put my wife and family first while also very much wanting to continue that service.’ OREA did not respond when asked to reveal the details of Harry’s fee for the appearance.

‘When I was in my twenties,’ he said. ‘I wanted to put my head in the sand, my fingers in my ears and avoid public life entirely – look what it did to my mother. ‘Then I realized I had to pull my [expletive] together… you have a platform. At first service was experienced because I had to do it, and the change was I want to continue to do it because I enjoy it.’ This statement was met with applause by the realtors for whom the earnest talks of the day now seemed a world away. Asked what made a good leader the prince left the crowd guessing: ‘We know what it’s not right? We have a very good demonstration of exactly what it isn’t.’

And the best advice he’d ever had, Harry shared, was advice he’d given himself: ‘Put your own mask on before helping others. I ran myself into the ground, I burned out just wanting to be there for everybody, but you’re no use unless you’re physically, mentally, fit.’ Coaching and therapy, he noted, were particularly helpful: ‘Ninety-nine percent of us walk around with some form of unresolved grief, trauma or loss.’ Fifty-Seven percent of Ontarians are worried about losing their home or rental unit with the vast majority, pollster and government advisor David Coletto revealed earlier, more worried about ‘physiological needs such as food, water and shelter’ than ‘self-actualization.’ What worries the prince? ‘AI and digital safety.’

Tech titans, he said, ‘make money at the expense of children – exploiting young people, farming their minds.’ There is ‘real-world harm knowingly created’ and they don’t want to fix it, he asserted, ‘because they are making money.’ Perhaps keen to lighten the mood Harry’s interlocutor lobbed him a question about Toronto. After all, the city has a ‘special place’ in his story – it is where his romance with Meghan first bloomed. ‘Toronto gave me my wife,’ Harry acknowledged with a smile. What would his ideal Toronto community look like if he were able to design it? ‘Well, it wouldn’t be in the city. I’m not a huge fan of cities,’ he told the roomful of professionals dedicated to developing and selling urban real estate. ‘I do better in the outdoors. ‘My wife and I fled to Vancouver Island and even that wasn’t remote enough so maybe an island within an island.’ And with that his time was up.