Moscow (CNN) Russian pranksters said they had duped the UK's Prince Harry into thinking he was speaking to teenage environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg , in a hoax call in which he revealed details on his decision to quit royal life , according to a British report published Wednesday.

Vladimir Krasnov and Aleksey Stolyarov -- known respectively as the Russian pranksters "Vovan" and "Lexus" -- said they tricked the prince into opening up about recent tensions within the royal family that led to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepping back from life as senior royals, the report in The Sun says.

Prince Harry, purportedly believing he was speaking on the phone with Thunberg and her father, said that he was "completely separate" from the British royal family, the report says.

The duo claims that the two phone calls took place on New Year's Eve and January 22 when Harry was on Vancouver Island, Canada, according to the report.

Buckingham Palace said they would not comment on "the Russian pranksters."

In edited audio published by The Sun, the Duke of Sussex seems to address the difficult choices the couple had faced: "Sometimes the right decision isn't always the easy one," he said.

"And this decision certainly wasn't the easy one, but it was the right decision for our family, the right decision to be able to protect my son," he added.

"And I think there's a hell of a lot of people around the world that can identify and respect us for putting our family first," he said.

"But, yeah, it's a tricky one, but we will start a new life."

Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the annual Commonwealth Day service at London's Westminster Abbey on March 9. This marked the couple's final engagement as senior members of the royal family. Hide Caption 1 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry attend the Endeavour Fund Awards in London on March 5. Hide Caption 2 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry visit the Canada House in London on January 7. The couple announced the next day that they would be stepping back from their roles as senior members of the British royal family. Hide Caption 3 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry visit a community center in Windsor, England, in November 2019. Hide Caption 4 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan The couple attends the annual Festival of Remembrance in November 2019. Hide Caption 5 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Harry and Meghan attend a pre-ceremony reception for the WellChild Awards in October 2019. Hide Caption 6 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan is photographed during a royal tour of South Africa in October 2019. Hide Caption 7 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Archbishop Desmond Tutu kisses Archie, Meghan and Harry's son, in September 2019. Hide Caption 8 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Harry and Meghan dance during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Hide Caption 9 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan holds Archie during the South African tour. Hide Caption 10 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Harry and Meghan greet singer Beyoncé and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, as they attend the European premiere of the film "The Lion King" in July 2019. Hide Caption 11 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone presents the couple with a jersey for Archie before a Major League Baseball game in London in June 2019. Hide Caption 12 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Queen Elizabeth II looks at her new great-grandchild, Archie, in May 2019. Prince Philip is on the far left. Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, is next to her at right. Hide Caption 13 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry present their newborn son at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Hide Caption 14 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry walk past tapestries during a visit to Rabat, Morocco, in February 2019. Hide Caption 15 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry attend a Christmas Day church service in December 2018. With them, from left, are Prince Charles; Prince William; and William's wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Harry and William are the two sons of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. Hide Caption 16 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry cheer on sailors during the Invictus Games in Australia in October 2018. Hide Caption 17 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan The couple talks to members of OneWave, an awareness group for mental health and well-being, in Sydney in October 2018. Hide Caption 18 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry pose with the cast and crew of the musical "Hamilton" after a performance in London in August 2018. Harry gave those in the theater something to remember after breaking into mock-song at the end of the show. The show was held to raise money for his HIV charity, Sentebale. Hide Caption 19 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Members of the royal family watch a flyover during a July 2018 event marking the centenary of the Royal Air Force. From left are Prince Charles; Prince Andrew; Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Queen Elizabeth II; Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex; Prince Harry; Prince William; and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Hide Caption 20 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry attend the Royal Ascot horse races in June 2018. Hide Caption 21 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan The couple poses with family members after getting married in May 2018. Hide Caption 22 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Just after getting married, the newlyweds wave during their carriage procession in Windsor, England. Zoom in for a closer look Hide Caption 23 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan The couple watches Coach Core apprentices take part in a training exercise in Birmingham, England, in March 2018. The Coach Core apprenticeship scheme was designed by the Royal Foundation to train young people to become sports coaches and mentors within their communities. Hide Caption 24 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Harry and Meghan join Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, during a Royal Foundation Forum in February 2018. Hide Caption 25 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan The couple watches a dance class during a visit to Cardiff, Wales, in January 2018. Hide Caption 26 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan The couple meets well-wishers during an appearance in London in January 2018. Hide Caption 27 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan A shop worker in Windsor, England, adjusts memorabilia celebrating the engagement of Harry and Meghan. Their engagement was announced in November 2017. Hide Caption 28 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan flashed her engagement ring to reporters during a November 2017 photo call. The ring, designed by Harry, featured a large diamond from Botswana and two smaller outer diamonds from the personal collection of Harry's late mother. Hide Caption 29 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan This engagement photo was released by Kensington Palace. Hide Caption 30 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Meghan and Harry made their first public appearance as a couple at the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017. The pair were introduced in July 2016 by mutual friends in London. Hide Caption 31 of 32 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and Meghan Harry and Meghan embrace at a polo match in May 2017. Hide Caption 32 of 32

It wasn't clear what questions were asked on the phone call, and only the purported responses from the prince were published. CNN has been unable to verify the recording.

Vovan and Lexus claim to have previously duped other well-known politicians and celebrities, such as actor Joaquin Phoenix, singer Elton John and, more recently, US Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.

A recording of one of the calls was published on the pair's YouTube channel with an animation of Prince Harry and Thunberg, according to The Sun, which published that call.

The recording has since been removed temporarily, the duo told CNN, due to an exclusive licensing agreement with The Sun.

According to The Sun, Prince Harry also mentioned US President Donald Trump in one of the calls saying. "I think the mere fact that Donald Trump is pushing the coal industry is so big in America, he has blood on his hands."

Prince Harry apparently went on to tell the caller: "Trump will want to meet you to make him look better but he won't want to have a discussion about climate change with you because you will outsmart him."

Putin apologized for past pranks

In 2015, the duo convinced Elton John he was talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin about gay rights in Russia. The singer -- believing he was talking to the President via Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, who was purportedly translating for the two -- said on the call that "he was extremely honored" and that "it is a great privilege to speak to one of the most influential people in the whole world."

According to Russian media, the real Putin later called Elton John and apologized for the prank and said the two were "harmless."

The pair have a history of pranking people perceived to be adversaries of Russia and notably do not target Russian officials. But they have denied accusations they are backed by the Kremlin and Russian intelligence services, blaming Russian opposition for peddling this narrative.

"This is a favorite pastime of both the Russian opposition and Ukrainian officials, they blame all of their failures on external factors, such as the FSB, the Kremlin and so on," Krasnov said in a BBC interview in 2016.

Stolyarov added: "We can responsibly declare, and we have always stated this, that we are not a project of special services, we ourselves are self-sufficient people, we have our own beliefs, our ideas and thoughts."

Russian state TV has also favorably reported on the comedic pair, doing positive features about their work.