Prince Harry wore his military medals pinned to his suit while walking in a procession behind his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin this week after it was announced he would be prohibited from wearing his military uniform.
On Wednesday, the Duke of Sussex joined his father King Charles III, his brother Prince William, and additional members of the royal family as they followed the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
The occasion saw the duke wear a black suit, rather than his military uniform. Earlier this week, news broke that he would be prohibited from wearing his uniform during ceremonial events leading up to the Queen’s funeral as a non-working member of the royal family.
However, Prince Harry, who served 10 years in the army including two tours of Afghanistan, chose to wear his military medals pinned to his chest. The duke’s decision is in line with protocol for retired British military personnel, who are not allowed to wear uniform unless they have been authorised to do so and instead, they wear their military medals pinned to civilian clothes, according to CNN.
The royal’s decision to wear his medals comes after he asked that the public’s focus remain on the Queen during this time, rather than what he wears.
“[Prince Harry] will wear a morning suit throughout events honouring his grandmother. His decade of military service is not determined by the uniform he wears and we respectfully ask that focus remain on the life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” a spokesperson for the duke told The Independent on Tuesday.
While the King, his siblings Princess Anne and Prince Edward, and his son Prince William, all wore military uniforms for the occasion, Prince Harry was not the only member of the royal family to wear a morning suit. His uncle Prince Andrew was also prohibited from wearing his uniform as a non-working royal.
This rule also meant that Prince Harry and Andrew bowed their heads while passing the Cenotaph, a war memorial on Whitehall, during the procession, rather than saluting like their family members in uniform.
While Prince Harry will not be allowed to wear his military uniform as a result of his and Meghan Markle’s decision to step back from the royal family in March 2020, he noted in a tribute to his grandmother that greeting the late monarch for the first time as his “Commander-in-Chief” remains one of his fondest memories.
“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings - from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren. I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between,” he wrote on the couple’s Archewell website.
