Prince William went on a deer and wild boar hunting trip in Spain a day before he launched a high-profile appeal to stop the illegal hunting of wildlife, The Guardian Newspaper (UK) reports.
There is no suggestion the hunting trip was in any way illegal, but critics have suggested that the timing of the holiday was poor, coming before an appeal close to the prince’s heart.
In a broadcast message the Duke of Cambridge and his father, Prince Charles, called on people to help save endangered animals such as rhinos, elephants and tigers.
A royal spokesman said the duke, who quit the RAF last year to lead a new global conservation group, United for Wildlife, was a “passionate advocate” on the subject.
The BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell questioned the timing of the trip, which was also attended by Prince Harry, the Sun reported. “Such a trip is a world away from shooting endangered species for profit, but some may feel that to go hunting himself just as he launches a high-profile campaign is, at the very least, ill-timed,” Witchell said.