The Prince of Wales has issued a personal message on social media to mark the death of his late friend and the founder of Save the Elephants and an ambassador of Tusk, Iain Douglas-Hamilton.
Taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) page, he wrote: "I am so sad to hear of the passing of Iain Douglas-Hamilton, a man who dedicated his life to conservation, and whose life’s work leaves a lasting impact on our appreciation for, and understanding of, elephants.
"The memories of spending time in Africa with him will remain with me forever. My thoughts go out to Iain’s family, especially his wife Oria and children Saba and Dudu," before signing off with his signature "W."
Iain died on 8 December 2025, aged 83. He is survived by his wife Oria and daughters Dudu and Saba. Save the Elephants CEO, Frank Pope, released a statement that read: "Iain was instrumental in exposing the ivory poaching crisis, documenting the destruction of over half of Africa’s elephants in a single decade, leading up to a crucial intergovernmental decision to ban the international trade in ivory in 1989.
"Whether sitting quietly among elephants, poring over maps of their movements, or circling above a herd in his beloved aircraft, that glint in his eye was there. He never lost his lifelong curiosity about what was happening inside the minds of one of our planet’s most intriguing creatures."
His life had been dedicated to working with elephants, with his passion starting with a scientific study of elephant social behaviour in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park at age 23.
The zoologist co-authored two award-winning books, Among the Elephants and Battle for the Elephants, alongside his wife, and founded Save the Elephants in 1993.
He was honoured with several awards to mark his achievements in elephant conservation. These included the Order of the Golden Ark in 1988, the Lilly Medal in 2010, and the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2015.
Prince William's charitable endeavours
These achievements likely resonate with Prince William, who has been a vocal advocate of elephant conservation and bringing an end to the ivory trade. William has thrown his support behind anti-poaching initiatives via his United for Wildlife foundation, is a patron for Tusk Trust, and is a WildAid ambassador for sharks, rhinos and elephants.
He launched the United for Wildlife initiative, which fosters cooperation among seven conservation organisations, in 2013, following the birth of his eldest son, Prince George.
Opening up about passing on his passion to his children, he said he had an Africa-themed nursery for George. "I’ll have toy elephants and rhinos around the room," William told CNN. "We’ll cover it in, you know, lots of bushes and things like that. [We’ll] make him grow up as if he’s in the bush.
"We must work together to prevent this catastrophe and allow our children the opportunity to experience wildlife in its many beautiful and varied forms," he said.
The royal also launched a six-part series called Guardians in 2025 that covered the vital work of rangers. Prince William said: "The rangers we meet in this series are an inspiration to us all. Every day, they take huge risks as nature’s frontline of defence, standing between poachers and endangered species, supporting sustainable human-animal coexistence and fighting habitat loss."
Continuing Iain's legacy
Iain was no stranger to danger throughout his career, from aggressive elephants to poachers' bullets. However, his most life-threatening incident occurred in 2023, when the then-80-year-old and his wife Oria, who is 10 years his senior, were attacked by a swarm of African bees at their farm in Kenya’s Rift Valley. He went into anaphylactic shock after being stung repeatedly, and spent three weeks in intensive care in a Nairobi hospital.
Following his health scare, his daughter Saba said, according to The Telegraph: "After the bee attack, he was fighting for his life. We very nearly lost him. But he’s a tough old Scot and my God he is hard to kill.
"Did he seek out danger in his life? I think dad has always been very adventurous, maybe occasionally reckless. I think he did what he felt had to be done to resolve what was a war against nature."
Saba and her sister Dudu have picked up their father's passion for animals. The former is a wildlife filmmaker and runs a camp for elephant lovers at Samburu, and the latter is the regional operations manager for African Parks in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Saba said she had a "very interesting childhood", which was "deeply inspiring."