King Charles and Queen Camilla are currently on their royal tour of Kenya, but biographer Tow Bower claimed His Majesty wasn't fond of the continent despite Princess Diana and Prince Harry's affinity for it.
Bower shared on a GB News appearance that Charles wasn't enthusiastic about flying to African Commonwealth nations, and he hasn't dedicated himself to the region.
"[Charles] never liked going to Africa: he was forced to go to Africa shortly before he became king because he neglected the Commonwealth. He liked going to the white Commonwealth countries," Bower told GB News.
"He liked going a lot to India, but he avoided Africa if he could. He just didn't find it culturally that interesting, whereas he was very interested in the culture of India. And the real truth is, [Queen] Camilla doesn't like traveling long distances," he added.
Bower later questioned the strength of Charles' statesmanship after the monarch spoke about the colonial-era abuse that occurred.
"It is the intimacy of our shared history that has brought our people together," His Majesty said at a state banquet at State House, in Nairobi, on Tuesday, October 31. "However, we must also acknowledge the most painful times of our long and complex relationship."
"I don't think [Charles is] a natural diplomat or politician. I think he does struggle because he knows very well, of course, that terrible things happened during the Mau Mau period, but more Kenyans were murdered by Kenyans, many, many more than by the British," Bower shared.
The royal commentator later tried to reduce British responsibility for the Mau Mau rebellion.
"It was all vastly exaggerated, the suffering caused by the British because it's the work of left-wing American academics who lied, positively lied, about what happened," he continued. "Unfortunately, the Foreign Office bowed to this argument that Britain had been terrible during the colonial period."
Since Diana's passing, the British territories in Africa have been an important part of both Prince William's and Harry's lives. The Prince of Wales proposed to his wife, Kate Middleton, in Kenya, and Harry and Meghan Markle's romance kicked off after an intimate trip to Botswana.
“I’ve always found hope on the continent. In fact, for most of my life, it has been my lifeline, a place where I have found peace and healing time and time again," Harry said in a speech. “It’s where I’ve felt closest to my mother and sought solace after she died, and where I knew I had found a soulmate in my wife.”
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Diana's legacy is often celebrated for her humanitarian efforts in Africa, and Harry has continued to build upon her vision by investing in AIDS/HIV advocacy and natural life preservation.
"The Duke has dedicated his life’s work to advancing causes that he is passionate about, and that bring about permanent change for people and places," Harry's African Parks biography read. "For over two decades, he has taken a deep personal interest in frontline conservation projects across Africa that work to protect the region’s natural resources and wildlife, for the benefit of local communities."
