Prince Harry and Meghan Markle receive sad news

(Image credit: Getty Images)

By Georgia Farquharson 2020-07-03T09:18:00Z

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been dealt some devastating news after it emerged that more than 350 elephants have died in Botswana.

Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan Markle hold Africa close to their hearts
Dr Niall McCann from National Park Rescue told the BBC that over 350 elephant carcasses had been found in Botswana
It follows royal news that Princess Diana's brother shared poignant tribute in honour of her birthday

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no doubt be devastated to hear that over 350 elephants have died in Botswana.

Not only does Africa hold a special place in the couples' heart as it was their first trip together, but elephants too as Meghan recently voiced a documentary, Elephant, for Disney +.

The sad news was delivered by Dr Niall McCann - director of conservation at National Park Rescue. He revealed the government had first been alerted of the tragedy back in May after an extraordinarily large amount of carcasses were spotted during a flight over the Okavango Delta.

He told the BBC, "They spotted 169 in a three-hour flight.

To be able to see and count that many in a three-hour flight was extraordinary. A month later, further investigations identified many more carcasses, bringing the total to over 350."

The expert called it "unprecedented" and said, "This is totally unprecedented in terms of numbers of elephants dying in a single event unrelated to drought."

The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Botswana played a crucial part in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's love story as it was where Prince Harry first whisked Meghan, 38, away after just two dates, later saying that he felt "the stars were aligned" when he met her.

It's no surprise Harry, 35, has such an affinity with Africa as his late mother, Princess Diana, did a huge amount of humanitarian work there - most notably destroying landmines and shattering the stigma around AIDS.

He has previously admitted the continent is the place "where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world".

The couple are yet to break their silence on the tragic death of these elephants.