The Duke of Sussex stood vigil at Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin alongside the Prince of Wales and Her Majesty’s six other grandchildren while wearing his military uniform.
Prince Harry’s appearance in his Blues and Royals uniform marks the first time he has worn it since 2020, when he stepped down as a senior member of the royal family and was stripped of his honorary military titles.
While he was allowed to wear the uniform at King Charles III’s request, Harry was initially denied the chance to wear it while his disgraced uncle the Duke of York is permitted to do so at the lying-in-state vigil on Friday.
However, royal sources said the decision was reversed, telling The Daily Mirror: “Common sense has prevailed.
“It was a ludicrous situation given the Duke of Sussex has served his country and is a highly respected member of the armed forces with everything he has done for veterans.
“It is important that the Queen’s grandchildren are all made to feel welcome and comfortable as they grieve their beloved grandmother together.”
Fans have taken to social media to praise Harry as he stood vigil alongside his brother Prince William, and his cousins Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
“What a handsome chap, glad he was able to wear his uniform as he was actually in the army the longest,” one person said in reply to a photograph of Harry in uniform posted on Twitter.
Another said that seeing Harry in his uniform was “emotional”, while a third added: “The vigil of the grandchildren broke my heart. Harry in his uniform was an inspiration.”
Harry served in the army for 10 years, rising to the rank of Captain and undertaking two tours in Afghanistan. He previously described his years in the army as “the happiest times of my life”.
However, the vigil was the only opportunity Harry had to wear his military uniform again as he will be in civilian dress for other official events, including the Queen’s state funeral on Monday (19 September).
It has not gone unnoticed that Harry’s uniform had a crucial difference from William’s. The Queen’s “ER” initials were missing from the shoulder of Harry’s uniform, although they were still present on William’s.
According to The Times, the duke was “devastated” about the change – which did not apply to Prince Andrew’s vice-admiral uniform that he wore during the vigil of the Queen’s children the night before, despite having also been stripped of his honorary military titles.
Andrew’s titles were stripped by the Queen in January, after the civil sexual abuse case against him was allowed to move to trial.
The duke was accused of allegedly sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager, after she claimed she was trafficked by convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – with whom Andrew had been friendly with.
Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations and consistently claims he has never met Giuffre. In February, he reached a multi-million pound settlement with Giuffre to stop the case proceeding to a civil trial.
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