Prince Harry “deeply saddened” after Remembrance Day request denied
Prince Harry is reportedly “deeply saddened” after his request to have a wreath laid on his behalf at the royals Remembrance Day service in London on Sunday was denied.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, resigned as a senior working member of the British royal family in January 2020.
His wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex dutifully followed behind her husband, and as such neither of them represent the monarchy.
As part of their exit deal, Harry gave up his military titles and walked away from all of his royal duties.
This was painful for Harry, according to the authors of the book Finding Freedom.
"If his grandmother's validation of his experiences served as encouragement, the most demoralising aspect of the new deal was his being stripped of his honorary military appointments that had been awarded to him as a senior royal," they write.
"As a retired serviceman, Harry would always be able to wear his medals, but no longer could he wear uniform as Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Force Commandant of the Royal Air Force Base Honington, and honorary Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's Small Ships and Diving Operations. These roles had come to an end."
Harry first laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in 2009 when he was just 25.
He and Meghan now live in California in the United States, with their son Archie, where they are pursuing their own projects.
Harry has recorded a Declassifed podcast that is set to air this week in which he speaks about the importance of Remembrance Day for him, saying: "Remembrance Day for me is a moment for respect and for hope.
"I wear it [the poppy] to celebrate the bravery and determination of all our veterans.
“These are the people and moments I remember when I salute, when I stand at attention and when I lay a wreath at the Cenotaph."