animal welfare
Trouble for Prince Harry: Secret visit to the rodeo
Prince Harry is facing headwind for his visit to the Texas rodeo
© Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard/ / Picture Alliance
Prince Harry made a surprise visit to a rodeo in Texas over the weekend. Animal rights activists don’t like that – and his wife Meghan could also be annoyed about it.
The picture made the rounds in the media in 2004: Prince Harry, then just 20 years old, posed in Argentina next to a dead water buffalo – with a smiling face and a gun in his hand. It’s a photo that his wife, Duchess Meghan, is unlikely to like: the American is known for her commitment to animal welfare. Now Harry has once again upset animal rights activists.
In Fort Worth, Texas, he surprisingly attended a rodeo event, mixing largely incognito with the visitors. An employee of the event posted a photo on Facebook showing the prince with a cowboy hat on site. Harry is said to have watched a bull ride. Animal protection organizations regularly criticize such events, for example Peta points out that the animals are often seriously injured and that the events are about displaying human dominance over the animals.
Harry came to the rodeo without Meghan
But even on site, people were surprised about the royal visit: It was shocking to see Harry here, since his wife was such a big advocate of animal welfare, the “Daily Mail” quoted a participant as saying. In fact, Meghan is said to have even persuaded Harry to cancel his participation in the royal fox hunts. In 2017, there was a dispute between the two, British media reports. Duchess Meghan did not accompany Harry to the rodeo, he came alone.
Harry and Meghan have lived in California for two years. The two have been married since 2018 and have been parents to son Archie since May 2019. Daughter Lili joined them in June 2021. The couple stepped down from their royal duties and offices in early 2020 and relocated to the United States, Meghan’s homeland. They have lived in Montecito ever since.
Trophy hunting has a long tradition in the European royal families. In addition to fox hunting, Harry and his brother William also regularly took part in pheasant and wild boar hunts. And former King of Spain Juan Carlos came under pressure in 2012 over a photo showing him hunting elephants.