Prince Charles reportedly called his first born Prince William "naïve" for suggesting Buckingham Palace should get rid its priceless ivory collection. The 31-year-old prince allegedly told a zoologist that he would "like to see all the ivory owned by Buckingham Palace destroyed," according to Mirror's report.

"William was left in no doubt he should have chosen his words more carefully. Charles thought the remarks were somewhat naive and stupid when you consider the vast collection of ivory held at the Palace," says a source.

In the fight against elephant poaching, the Duke of Cambridge revealed his intention days after he attended the world's largest assembly on the illegal wildlife trade. There are at least 45 tons of ivory were seized last year which was believed to be the biggest annual haul in a quarter of a century.

"He seems to believe there is a vast difference between rightly calling for action against illegal traders and to call for Buckingham Palace to rid itself of an ­enormously important and historical collection of artifacts," adds the source in an interview with Mirror. "It was a typical father and son encounter really, with Charles trying to use his greater experience to try to educate his son."

Buckingham Palace has a massive ivory collection that contains 1,200 items of ivory, including a throne in India that incorporates elephant-ivory plaques. Stripping the palace with its collection will encourage other country leaders and state heads to give up their ivory stocks and not to encourage the illegal trade.

"It's difficult to imagine a stronger symbol of the horrors of ivory than Buckingham Palace publicly destroying its own," says Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith in an interview with Independent. "Good for Prince William for pushing this."

Will reportedly told chimpanzee expert Dr. Jane Goodall that he want to get rid of the ivory collection back in February after he and Prince Charles attended the summit. The two royals lend their voices to the growing global effort to stop the illegal trade.

Although Charles is supportive about the effort, he also recognises the importance of the palace ivory collection and not too keen on William's decision to destroy it. According to a source the argument is just "a typical father and son encounter" and Charles is only trying to educate his son since he has a greater experience.