Prince Harry will be the keynote speaker at a £270-a-head conference for estate agents in Canada despite spending most of his life living in grace-and-favour homes.
The Duke of Sussex will address 450 property professionals about ‘service and leadership’ at the Ontario Real Estate Association (Orea) Power House in Toronto.
Organisers of the event at the city’s Hilton hotel on December 1 described Harry as a ‘humanitarian, mental health advocate, environmentalist and military combat veteran’.
They said he aimed to create ‘positive and lasting change for communities and the planet, particularly in advancing conversations around resilience and healing’.
Harry bought his first property in Montecito, California, for $15million (£11million) in 2020, after stepping down as a senior royal and moving to the US with Meghan.
Last October, the Daily Mail revealed the couple had bought a home in Portugal – with royal experts claiming this could be the first part of a global property empire.
The Sussexes previously lived in royal homes in the UK including Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, which was leased. They paid £2.4million to cover the refurbishment and rental of the Grade II-listed Crown Estate property in Windsor Home Park.
Harry and Meghan also resided at Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, which became their first shared home between 2017 and 2019.
The Duke had lived alone at what royal aides call ‘Nott Cott’ since 2013 when he was 31, moving in from Clarence House following his brother Prince William’s departure.
Prince Harry will speak at the Ontario Real Estate Association Power House event next month
Harry is described as a ‘mental health advocate, environmentalist and military combat veteran’
Attendees of the conference were advised that King Charles III’s 41-year-old son will ‘bring a powerful message of service and leadership to the Power House stage’.
Tickets cost C$299 (£163) for Orea members or C$499 (£272) for non-members, with organisers boasting that the conference will be ‘THE political event of the year’.
The audience will ‘hear from influential leaders, political pundits, and powerful insiders on all things real estate policy, housing supply and the Canadian economy’.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, former editor of The International Who’s Who, told the Daily Mail that it was an unusual event for Harry to speak at.
He said: ‘It seems ironic that Prince Harry is appearing at a real estate conference talking about ‘service and leadership’. His service as a working royal lasted only 20 months once he married Meghan.
‘He betrayed Queen Elizabeth II, whom he called his ‘Commander-in-Chief’, by trashing the monarchy in destructive interviews and in an ill-judged memoir.’
On ‘leadership’, Mr Fitzwilliams pointed out that the Charity Commission was critical of the way his Lesotho charity Sentebale was run when he was a patron.
He added: ‘He is a member of the board of Africa Parks which has admitted abuses but he has remained silent about this.’
This is a reference to African Parks acknowledging that guards at one of its national parks in the Republic of Congo committed human rights abuses against Indigenous peoples who were displaced when the park was constructed.
Mr Fitzwilliams also said: ‘Invictus is remarkable to be sure, but he otherwise seems to be drifting in Meghan’s wake as she desperately attempts to be a Hollywood A-lister with a brand that sells.’
He told how Harry ‘could undoubtedly make some money on the speakers’ circuit, but it is surely rather aimless, like his brief appearances in Meghan’s videos’.
Harry and Meghan previously lived at Frogmore Cottage on the Home Park Estate in Windsor
Harry and Meghan also lived at Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace in West London
He continued: ‘it is ridiculous that he is appearing at a real estate power conference but will not, we are told, be talking about real estate.
‘He lived in grace and favour homes as a member of the Royal Family. There is the Sussexes’ home in Montecito and reportedly a property in Portugal. He certainly has no expertise on the subject.
‘Harry looks at ease when he is having fun with the kids at, for example, the WellChild Awards. However the speakers’ circuit is a refuge for the superannuated, who are usually past their prime – and if he does this regularly, many might think his best future is behind him.’
Other speakers at the conference will include local news editors, mayors and politicians including Ontario premier Doug Ford and the Green Party’s Ontario leader Mike Schreiner.
The conference will run between 9am to 4.30pm. Harry is expected speak in person, but it is not known whether his wife Meghan Markle will join him.
Meghan has a close affinity with Toronto having lived there from 2011 to 2017 while filming TV legal drama Suits, in which she played paralegal Rachel Zane.
She and Harry spent time together in the city during the early stages of their relationship, before becoming engaged in 2017 and marrying in Windsor in 2018.
An Instagram post by the Buzz Conference, another real estate event in Canada which announced the Power House conference, said: ‘The Headliner Keynote Speaker is Prince Harry, humanitarian, mental health advocate, environmentalist, and military combat veteran.
‘His work is dedicated to creating positive and lasting change for communities and the planet, particularly in advancing conversations around resilience and healing.
‘Now, he won’t be speaking about Real Estate. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, will bring a powerful message of service and leadership to the Power House stage. ‘Trust us, you’re not going to want to miss this one!”
The event will take place at the Hilton hotel in Toronto on December 1 between 9am to 4.30pm
Prince Harry met veterans during his trip in Toronto earlier this month, pictured on November 7
The Orea website added: ‘This is your chance to hear from influential leaders, political pundits, and powerful insiders on all things real estate policy, housing supply and the Canadian economy.
‘Orea’s Power House conference is THE political event of the year and you don’t want to miss it.’
It comes after Harry visited Toronto earlier this month where he took part in events ahead of Remembrance Day, including spending time with Canadian soldiers.
He spent two days in Toronto meeting veterans, members of the armed forces community and military charities to mark the ‘Remembrancetide’ period which spans the two-week period leading up to Remembrance Sunday.
Speaking about Toronto, Harry told a dinner in the city: ‘You provided a wife for me and you hosted the Invictus Games in 2017, touchstones in my life both professionally and personally.’
The trip clashed with Harry’s brother Prince William’s Earthshot Prize awards ceremony during his major tour to Brazil.
Harry denied deliberately trying to overshadow William’s with his own visit – but his version of events about the diary clash was later disputed by Palace staff.
The Duke had claimed the royal household was informed in advance, ‘as a courtesy’, that he was going to Toronto when his brother was in Rio de Janeiro.
But multiple sources then insisted his announcement caught royal aides ‘by surprise’, and had also ruffled feathers.