Prince Harry makes bold return amid charity scandal: ‘something bigger'

Prince Harry quietly made a return to an important matter following a slew of controversies marring a charity close to his heart.

The Duke of Sussex, stepped out this week to support the scandal-hit African Parks Conservation at Scale Event alongside Rob Walton, Chair of African Parks Foundation of America, Jordan Rose Walton, Phoenix Sun’s Devin Booker, Khaman Maluach and others in Arizona.

The charity had launched its $1 billion Campaign for Conservation at Scale at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, and Harry came to boost the message.

“This five-year effort is designed to secure and expand effective management of Africa’s most critical protected areas – strengthening our existing portfolio, expanding into new priority landscapes, and building long-term conservation capacity across the continent,” Harry said during the event.

“We came together tonight to support a great cause, African Parks Network with Rob & Jordan Walton, Prince Harry and others, but it reminded me of something bigger: When exceptional humans come together with heart, generosity, and purpose... incredible things happen.”

Harry, similar to his estranged brother Prince William, holds a close connection to Africa and has been passionate about making a difference in the region.

King Charles’s younger son serves as the governing Board of Directors for African Parks, a non-profit conservation charity, and has been involved with it since 2016. Unfortunately, it is also stained with shocking allegations.

Reports published in 2024 accused African Parks rangers of beating, waterboarding and raping locals to stop them from accessing their ancestral forests, which are now in a conservation area.

Moreover, in late 2025 the Chad abruptly severed its 15-year partnership with African Parks, expelling the NGO from its protected reserves in the country.

However, African Parks had issued a lengthy statement acknowledging that, “in some incidents, human rights abuses have occurred, and we deeply regret the pain and suffering caused to the victims”.

They noted that they are “embedding safeguards across all our operations”.