Prince Harry has sold a pair of handmade hunting rifles as he bids to please animal-loving wife Meghan Markle.
A hunter bought a pair of Purdey firearms, thought to be worth around £50,000, in a private deal five months ago, before the couple quit the UK for Canada and later moved to the US, The Sun reports.
A friend of the anonymous buyer said: ‘He bought them because he wanted them, not because they belonged to Harry, but he was quite chuffed when he found out.
‘They are beautiful examples and he’s very pleased with them but he’s not the sort of person who wants to boast about the royal connection.’
Speaking to the Radio Times last week, Conservationist Dr Jane Goodall said of Harry and his brother William: ‘They hunt and shoot. But I think Harry will stop because Meghan doesn’t like hunting.’
Prince Harry, pictured in January 2005 with a dead water buffalo in San Luis, Argentina
Harry and Meghan carried out the last of their royal duties at the end of March and are said to be eyeing up a multi-million pound home in LA to share with Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland
In December 2018, during the couple’s first Christmas together, there were rumours Prince Harry would abstain from a traditional Boxing Day hunt, which had to be dismissed by palace sources as ‘completely untrue’.
Harry, 35, has however, been notably absent from shoots at Balmoral and Sandringham, according to The Sun.
News of the sale comes a week after it was claimed Prince Harry told friends he missed the ‘camaraderie’ of life in the forces.
Harry was stripped of his military appointments when he and Meghan stepped back as senior royals on March 31.
He had to give up roles including Captain General of the Royal Marines and Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington.
The Duke of Sussex reportedly told friends he ‘cannot believe’ how his life has been ‘turned upside down’ since moving to the US.
Prince Harry, pictured on patrol in the Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, 2008, is said to miss the camaraderie of his time in the armed forces
The Sussexes are said to be eyeing up a sprawling six-bedroom home near LA’s wealthy neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades and are planning to have Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland move in with them and baby Archie.
‘Once quarantine and lockdown are over, Harry and Meghan will be moving into their new pad – and they want Doria to be included in these plans,’ a source told The Sun.
‘She is hugely independent though, and doesn’t want to be in their space. She will have her own granny annex.’
The source said Meghan wants to keep her mother, 63, close as she is ‘her rock’ and now ‘doesn’t trust many people’ outside of an immediate circle of family and friends.
The source said that, while Harry has reportedly grown increasingly distant from his own family after the couple’s shock exit from Royal life, he has forged a close bond with Doria and is happy to include her as the family looks to set down roots in LA.
Meghan and Harry pictured arriving at Mansion House in London in March to attend the Endeavour Fund Awards
‘Harry has also grown close to her so, believe it or not, he was receptive to the idea of living with his mother-in-law,’ the source said.
Since moving from Canada to the US, the couple have been renting a home near to Elton John and David Furnish, who they are believed to have been in regular contact with.
In January, Meghan and Harry stunned the world when they announced they would be quitting their royal duties, become financially independent and split their time between North America and England.
Since then the couple have wound down their UK foundation and shut their Buckingham Palace office.