Fact Check: Does Prince Harry Photo Show Him With Hunted Water Buffalo?

Circumstances surrounding the release of Prince Harry's tell-all memoir have seen his popularity take a significant hit, falling to its lowest percentage on record, according to YouGov polling.

As allegations made in the book fuel debate about the prince—from accusations of a physical attack by Prince William in 2019 to a claim his stepmother Queen Camilla "sacrificed" him on her "PR altar"—social media users have discussed and shared dubious moments from Harry's past that were not included.

One of these appeared to be a photograph showing the royal posed with the carcass of a dead buffalo, with various accounts sharing the post, which claims it was taken after a big game hunt. But what's the real story behind the infamous image?

The Claim

A photograph depicting a young Harry posed with a rifle in hand next to the carcass of a water buffalo has been shared in recent days.

One tweet viewed more than 49,000 times showed a screenshot from the social network Quora with the identifying text: "This is Harry crouching over the body of a water buffalo: The picture was taken in November 2004, when he was on a polo trip to Argentina."

The Facts

The photograph of Harry shared in connection to the big game hunting claim first emerged in 2014, released after the prince, together with his father and brother, attended a conference discussing the importance of wildlife preservation.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper ran a feature on the photo in February 2014 with the headline: "Crackshot Harry, the buffalo killer: Picture emerges after prince's call to protect wildlife."

The animal was reportedly shot as part of a hunt that took place in 2004, while the prince was spending time in South America on his gap year before joining the military.

"The prince spent several months working on the El Remanso polo farm in Argentina," the Mail reported. "During the trip, he and his then girlfriend Chelsy Davy joined an expedition to hunt big game, staying at a private lodge in the province of Entre Rios. The ranch was owned by Count Claudio Zichy-Thyssen, one of the country's most powerful landowners with more than 170,000 acres stocked with game."

In 2014, at the time of the image's release, Kensington Palace declined to comment, however, the newspaper cited a senior palace source who told them: "It would be a great shame if the publication of this picture were to detract from the efforts being made by the three princes to curb the appalling illegal wildlife trade.

"Like his father and brother, Prince Harry has always been a strong supporter of the campaign to protect endangered species."

The hunting of water buffalos in Argentina is not prohibited, according to South America Adventures Safaris and other tourist information resources, with commercial shoots hosted on reservations throughout the year. Though legal, the practice requires a permit, according to the Argentina government website.

Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry and the Rex Features photo agency for comment.

The Ruling

True.

A 2004 photograph shows Prince Harry posing with a water buffalo carcass after a hunt.

The hunt took place while the prince was spending time in South America on his gap year and it was made public via the media in 2014.

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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