Despite how staggeringly cool Rachel Weisz made pheasant-shooting look in The Favourite, it’s an objectively cruel hobby in the minds of many, including, apparently, the PETA-approved Duchess of Sussex. Though Prince Harry is clearly not of that opinion, he’s traded in his bad-boy days to be a Good Husband, and is therefore reportedly skipping his family’s decades-old post-Christmas shooting tradition this year.
According to the Daily Mail, Prince Harry has partaken in his family Boxing Day shooting tradition for at least 20 years, but skipped last year’s event — and will apparently do so again this year. While the Duke of Sussex has been a shooting enthusiast since his teen years, he apparently first caught flak from Meghan last year when he joined a wild boar hunt in Germany — she’s anti-blood sports and anti-fur — and he has since then has skipped out on hunting events.
According to royal insiders, some people close to Prince Harry think he has become unrecognizable since getting married — notably, his brother. “William sees this as another concerning example of his brother being pulled away from his family by his new wife,” one royal source told the Sunday Mirror. “Harry’s always loved hunting and it has provided them with a great chance to bond as brothers. But now it looks like Harry’s shooting days are over.”
Is this Mail report just yet another one of the British tabloid’s attempt to drum up rumors of “tension” between the millennial royals? Or does Prince William not give a shit about his little brother’s alleged plan to skip the shooting? Regardless, we hope that (at least some of) the pheasants are safe this year.
