Prince Harry has stepped down from the board of African Parks after a decade-long association with the conservation organisation, ending his formal role with the charity as he prepares for an extended return to the UK with Meghan and their children.

Harry’s departure comes as African Parks undergoes a governance refresh. The organisation announced on 19 August that he would conclude his tenure following 10 years with the charity, while welcoming two new board members. His spokesperson said the Duke of Sussex remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission and is proud of his work with the organisation.

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Harry first became involved with African Parks in Malawi in July 2016, when he joined the team working on the first phase of its 500 Elephants project. He went on to become president in 2017, a position he held for six years before joining the board of directors in 2023.

His departure follows scrutiny of African Parks over human rights abuses involving rangers at Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of the Congo. An independent investigation commissioned by the organisation examined allegations involving members of the Indigenous Baka community, including beatings, torture and sexual violence. African Parks acknowledged in 2025 that abuses had occurred in some incidents and said the investigation had identified failures in its systems and processes. The organisation subsequently pledged to address the shortcomings.

Photo: X/@ Kensington Palace

The findings led to renewed criticism of Harry’s association with the charity. Survival International, which had raised concerns about alleged abuses against the Baka community, called on him to leave African Parks. The group has argued that conservation efforts should not restrict Indigenous communities from accessing their ancestral lands.

Harry’s exit has not been linked publicly to the allegations. African Parks has presented his departure as part of its board changes, while his spokesperson has said his commitment to conservation in Africa continues. The charity has also said it has strengthened its safeguarding processes following the independent investigation.

Credit: Instagram/@Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

The timing of Harry’s departure also comes as he and Meghan prepare to spend an extended period in the UK with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The couple are expected to retain their home in California while spending more time in Britain. Reports have said the children are expected to attend school in the UK.

Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior working royals in 2020 and subsequently moved to California. While Harry’s return to Britain will increase his physical presence in the country, neither he nor Meghan is returning to official working roles within the Royal Family.

Photo: PA

His departure from African Parks follows his exit from Sentebale, the charity he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, in 2025. That departure came after a dispute between the charity’s board and its former chair, Sophie Chandauka.

For African Parks, Harry’s departure is part of a wider change to its board. For the Duke, it marks the end of a formal conservation role that began with an elephant relocation project in Malawi and continued through six years as president and three years as a board member. His spokesperson has made clear that leaving the board does not mean leaving the cause behind.

Almost 30 years after Princess Diana’s death, her younger brother, Charles Spencer, is preparing to publish his first extended account of her life from his perspective.

Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, will publish Swan Song: Diana, My Sister on 22 September 2026. The memoir will cover their childhood, Diana’s marriage to the then Prince of Wales, her life after the breakdown of the marriage and the events surrounding her death in Paris in 1997. The book will be published by Michael Joseph in the UK and is set to appear internationally in 12 languages.

Photo: Penguin

Spencer has spoken publicly about Diana over the years, but this will be his first book devoted to his sister. He said repeated requests for interviews about her had made him increasingly uncomfortable with accounts that he believed contained untruths that had become accepted over time.

The decision comes as interest in Diana continues ahead of the 30th anniversary of her death in August 2027. Spencer says he wants to tell her story as her brother, drawing on memories that date back to their childhood rather than relying on accounts written by people who knew her primarily through her public role.

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The memoir will begin before Diana became a member of the Royal Family. She and Spencer grew up together at Park House in Norfolk and later at Althorp, the Spencer family estate in Northamptonshire. Their parents, John Spencer and Frances Shand Kydd, divorced when the siblings were children.

Spencer has previously written about aspects of his childhood in his 2024 memoir, A Very Private School. The book examined his experiences at boarding school, including the abuse and isolation he says he experienced after being sent away from home at the age of eight. His new memoir shifts the focus to Diana and the family life they shared.

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The book is also expected to revisit the period following Diana’s 1981 marriage to Charles, then Prince of Wales. Her public role changed dramatically after the wedding, followed by her separation from the Prince of Wales and the intense media attention surrounding the end of their marriage.

Spencer’s own involvement in Diana’s media history could make some sections of the memoir particularly closely watched. He was involved in the circumstances that led to Martin Bashir’s 1995 Panorama interview with Diana. A later BBC investigation found that Bashir had used forged documents to secure access to the princess. Spencer subsequently supported journalist Andy Webb’s investigation into the affair.

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Spencer also played a central public role after Diana’s death. At her funeral in 1997, he delivered a eulogy in which he criticised the treatment she had received from the press and promised that her sons, William and Harry, would be protected by the family.

His new book takes that personal connection further. Rather than presenting another biography based on interviews and historical research, Spencer is writing about someone he knew throughout her life as his sister.

Photo: Instagram

The memoir arrives on 22 September, shortly after the 29th anniversary of Diana’s death and almost a year before the 30th anniversary. Its publication will add another account to the extensive record of Diana’s life, with Spencer addressing the memories, events and disputed versions of her story that he says have stayed with him for decades.

Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is expected to offer Spencer’s most detailed account yet of his relationship with Diana and his recollections of the years that shaped her life.