The Duke of Sussex could be banned from wearing his military uniforms at future engagements when the Queen strips him of his patronages and Armed Forces titles – with an announcement expected to be brought forward.
Prince Harry would still be allowed to wear his medals, including his Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan and those for the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, but could be prevented from wearing his uniforms.
The 36-year-old royal is known to cherish his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines. He is also honorary air commandant of RAF Honington in Suffolk and the Royal Navy’s commodore-in-chief of Small Ships and Diving.
Harry has at least two ceremonial uniforms for his roles in the Forces, but has also worn a variety of military outfits in previous years before his appointment to his current three positions – as well as when he was in active service.
But he is now expected to lose the three honorary Forces titles – a decision which is said to have left him ‘upset’, while his wife Meghan is set to lose her National Theatre role following the one-year review period after Megxit.
Buckingham Palace is now expected to bring forward the final announcement from the Queen on what will happen at the end of next month to avoid any further speculation and uncertainty, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Retired Armed Forces personnel in Britain are allowed to wear their medals but generally not their uniform at official engagements. Harry had been allowed to wear his uniform for engagements because of his honorary titles.
The ban on military uniform following retirement is not automatic – with a procedure in place for exceptions at certain appropriate occasions, which would feature high-level discussions about a specific individual and event.
In Harry’s case, him still wearing military uniform instead of civilian clothes despite losing his titles would therefore be a Buckingham Palace decision following a conversation with the Ministry of Defence’s ceremonial team.
The nearest precedent to this is when the Queen specifically allowed Harry to keep his beard for his wedding to Meghan at Windsor Castle in 2018 despite it being customary to be clean-shaven when wearing military uniform.
Among the decorations on his military uniform are his Army Air Corps Wings, which he received in 2010 upon completion of advanced helicopter training. He normally wears these on his left side, above the military medals.
Prince Harry wears his dress uniform as Captain General of the Royal Marines as he attends the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall in London with Meghan Markle on March 7, 2020, shortly before they stepped down as senior royals
The Duke of Sussex displayed various decorations on his military uniform at the Royal Albert Hall last March. He wore a scarlet Mess Jacket featuring silver-embroidered rank badges of a star above a crossed sword and baton on each shoulder strap
Harry inspects a parade at RAF Honington in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in July 2017 while wearing ceremonial uniform. He is also honorary air commandant of RAF Honington and the Royal Navy’s commodore-in-chief of Small Ships and Diving
Prince Harry (left) also has a Blues and Royals military uniform which he wore when he married Meghan at Windsor Castle in May 2018. The choice of attire was significant because it was a major’s uniform as opposed to that of a general – despite him being Captain General of the Marines. His brother Prince William also wore a Blues and Royals frockcoat uniform for the event
Harry wears his medals with a normal suit while visiting the Los Angeles National Cemetery with Meghan last November. The medals are the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee
Below this, Harry sports four medals – the Knight Commander, Royal Victorian Order (KCVO), Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
He also wears a badge denoting the Star of the Grand Cross Knight Commander of the RVO on a ribbon around his neck, which is a Maltese cross with a central cameo featuring the Royal Cypher of Queen Victoria.
A blue ring reads ‘Victoria’ and a Tudor crown sits on top of the circle. The Queen knighted Harry in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2015 for his work in representing her in Britain and abroad.
When attending roles as Marines Captain General, such as the Mounbatten Festival at the Royal Albert Hall last March, he also wears the corps badge of the Marines and shoulder straps with silver-embroidered rank badges.
At the Festival, which was one of his final UK engagements before ‘Megxit’, he wore a scarlet Mess Jacket featuring silver-embroidered rank badges of a star above a crossed sword and baton on each shoulder strap.
Each lapel is decorated with the Corps badge of the Royal Marines, consisting of a globe, laurel and crown, the battle honour ‘Gibraltar’, an anchor and the Corps motto ‘Per Mare Per Terram’ (By Sea, by Land).
The Duke wears a normal suit at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2019. He is wearing the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee medals
Prince Harry wears the Tropical Dress of the Blues and Royals, dubbed his ‘Officer and a Gentleman’ attire, in October 2018 before unveiling a plaque during the official opening of the refurbished Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park in Sydney. He also wore the unusual white uniform in 2012 when representing the Queen during a Diamond Jubilee tour of the West Indies
Harry wears his Household Division ceremonial uniform during a visit to the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. It consists of a black frock, a form of undress, which is one formality level below full dress. The coats, worn at formal occasions by those not on parade in command of troops, are single-breasted and dark blue with black braiding and loops. Harry’s peaked black and red cap featured the Blues and Royals badge. This contains the letters ER – Elizabeth Regina
The Duke also has a Blues and Royals military uniform which he wore when he married Meghan at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Harry joined the Blues and Royals in 2006, and his military career ended in 2015 when he retired.
The choice of attire was significant because it was a major’s uniform as opposed to that of a general – despite him being Captain General of the Marines.
The uniform, which took more than 100 hours to hand craft with 65,000 stitches by Dege & Skinner on Savile Row, was therefore deemed to be showing his affinity to the Armed Forces despite retiring from active service.
Now, the Queen is said to have come to the decision to remove the patronages from Harry and Meghan following a 12-month review after the couple stepped down as working royals in January 2020, with an official announcement due in the coming weeks.
Her 36-year-old grandson is set to be stripped of his three remaining honorary military titles and his patronages with the Rugby Football Union, Rugby Football League and the London Marathon.
Speaking about whether he will keep his military titles last Friday, Sunday Times royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah told The Royal Beat on True Royalty TV: ‘Those of us that speak with Buckingham Palace regularly have been briefed very clearly that is not going to happen.
Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers added: ‘I can’t see that he can. He can’t be ‘one foot in and one foot out’. They are honorary titles and you need to be a member of the working Royal Family and they [Harry and Meghan] have chosen their path.’
The Queen has long insisted that it was not sustainable for Harry and Meghan to be ‘half in, half out’ of the royal family after starting a new life in California.
Prince Harry, who could lose his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines, wears camouflage as he meets 42 Commando Royal Marines at their base in Bickleigh, Devon, to carry out a Green Beret presentation in February 2019
Harry, or Captain Wales as he was known in the British Army, wears camouflage makes his early morning pre-flight checks in the cockpit at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan in December 2012. He spent four months there on his second tour of duty
Harry (right) wears camouflage as he races to scramble his Apache with fellow pilots at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan in 2012
The Queen smiles at Harry as she inspects soldiers at their passing-out Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst in April 2006
Prince Harry in Army fatigues uniform with a sword and beret practising for the military tattoo at Eton College in May 2005
A source told The Times: ‘There was no choice. The reality of not being able to have their cake and eat it is finally dawning on him. I am sure it is really painful for him. He is very upset to be in this spot.’
They added: ‘You cannot confuse representing the institution and the head of state with the sort of commercial operations that they intend to run.’
One grey area is expected to be the couple’s links with the Commonwealth. Meghan is patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, while Harry is president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and the duchess vice-president. Sources suggested that these are likely to go as well.
The couple are expected to keep their private patronages. These include Harry’s roles as patron of the Invictus Games Foundation and Sentebale, a mental health charity. Meghan is patron of women’s employment initiative Smart Works and the animal charity Mayhew.
Charities and organisations across Britain have been waiting to hear whether Harry and Meghan can remain involved with them after it emerged the couple are set to lose all their remaining royal patronages.
The Rugby Football League told MailOnline it had ‘not received official correspondence relating to any changes’, while the WellChild charity, for which Harry is also patron, said: ‘We look forward to continuing to work with him.’
The London Marathon Charitable Trust, another of the Duke’s patronages, would only say that Harry ‘is the patron’, while the Ministry of Defence directed queries to Buckingham Palace, which declined to comment.
A Sentebale spokesman said: ‘The Duke of Sussex will continue as Patron of Sentebale and is fully committed to supporting Sentebale. Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso set up the charity 14 years ago to respond to the needs of children and young people, especially those living with HIV and AIDS, in Lesotho.
‘The Duke and Prince Seeiso stated in their Foreword to Sentebale’s most recent Annual review: ‘We remain committed to playing an active role in the life of Sentebale and to supporting its work long into the future.’
Other organisations he has patronages for which have not yet responded included the Rugby Football Union and the Invictus Games Foundation. The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund declined to comment.
Meanwhile none of the organisations where Meghan is patron have yet responded, including the Mayhew animal welfare charity, Smart Works, The Association of Commonwealth Universities and the National Theatre.
The couple are also president and vice president of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, which has also not responded to a request for comment.
An RFL spokesman said: ‘The Rugby Football League is very proud that the Duke of Sussex has been the sport’s Patron since 2016. The RFL has not received official correspondence relating to any changes at this time.’
And a WellChild spokesman added: ‘We are delighted to have the Duke of Sussex as our Patron. He has always been a great supporter of WellChild’s work and we look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.’
A representative for the London Marathon Charitable Trust said: ‘The Duke of Sussex is the Patron of The London Marathon Charitable Trust. We have no further comment on this.’
And a Ministry of Defence press officer said: ‘Given that these are Royal Patronages, your query is one for the Royal Communications team at Buckingham Palace.’
Meghan is expected to have to step down as patron of the National Theatre, unless she can negotiate another position with them.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend a reception at Buckingham Palace in London to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force on July 10, 2018 (left). The Queen is pictured at Remembrance Sunday last year (right)
Meghan attends a workshop with schoolchildren at the National Theatre in 2018. She is currently patron of the organisation
When she was handed the role in 2019, it was seen as a major gesture of support and affection because the Queen had been patron of the London institution for 45 years.
Sources have stressed that a 12-month review of their new status was not put into place last year with a renegotiation of terms in mind, but as a safety net in case they moved abroad ‘and didn’t get a dime in the bank’.
Harry and Meghan have since secured multi-million deals with companies including Spotify and Netflix, meaning that their futures are now assured.
But their decision to pursue commercial tie-ups has made their position as quasi-royals simply impossible, courtiers believe.
One source has said: ‘You can’t have one of the head of state’s representatives flogging cups of coffee, it’s as a simple as that.’
Just days ago friends of the prince signalled his determination to fight in particular for his military titles: Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington in Bury St Edmunds, and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command.
But it seems as if that battle, at least, has been lost.
The father of one will be allowed to keep anything that is a private patronage – and he still has several, such the Invictus Games and WellChild. Meghan holds two personal patronages, the Mayhew animal charity and Smart Works.
It is not clear when an announcement on the patronages will be made but the Daily Mail understands that it could even be earlier than March 31, when the couple’s review period concludes.
Meanwhile it was confirmed this week that Harry and Meghan had agreed to a ‘wide-ranging’ interview with Oprah Winfrey. It is believed the programme could be recorded this week.
The Sussexes did not tell the Queen in advance that they were planning the interview – but are keen to avoid upsetting the monarch during their chat, it was claimed yesterday.
Sources close to the Sussexes told the London Evening Standard that the couple still had a good relationship with the Queen, the Duke’s grandmother.
A royal source said that as the couple were no longer working royals, any decisions taken with regard to ‘media commitments are matters for them’.
The source added that the Sussexes were ‘under no obligation’ to inform the Royal Household of the interview, which was announced by CBS in a press release.
Meghan and Oprah are friends and near neighbours in California, with Oprah attending the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018 and plugging a range of vegan lattes that Meghan has helped finance.
One source described the interview as ‘one of the most inevitable and, sadly, predictable consequences’ of the ‘Megxit’ saga.
The Duke of Sussex high-fives a pupil during the annual WellChild Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on June 15, 2018. Harry is patron of the charity, which told MailOnline: ‘We look forward to continuing to work with him’
Harry hosts the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draws at Buckingham Palace in London on January 16, 2020. He is the patron of the Rugby Football League, which told MailOnline: ‘The Rugby Football League is very proud that the Duke of Sussex has been the sport’s Patron since 2016. The RFL has not received official correspondence relating to any changes at this time’
The Duke of Sussex poses with the winners of the men’s and women’s London Marathon on April 28, 2019. He is patron of The London Marathon Charitable Trust, which told MailOnline: ‘The Duke of Sussex is the Patron of The London Marathon Charitable Trust. We have no further comment on this’
Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan are set to lose all their remaining royal patronages, which are displayed above
Harry will also feature in the 90-minute show. It will air next month on CBS and the couple will discuss their move to the United States. It will be the first time the pair have spoken publicly about their bombshell decision to leave Britain and step down from their working roles in the Royal Family.
Nearly half of Britons conducting such a tell-all interview after Megxit ‘inappropriate’, a poll has found.
When asked by pollsters YouGov about the Sussexes’ upcoming 90-minute chat about their experience with the Royal Family, 46 per cent said the move was ‘inappropriate’, with just 29 per cent saying it was appropriate.
A quarter (25 per cent) of the 4,334 respondents said that they ‘don’t know’.
The YouGov poll revealed differences in opinion among different age groups, showing that younger generations were most likely to view the interview as appropriate, and older ones less so.
Among those aged 18-24, 52 per cent said the interview was appropriate. That number decreased the older the group was, with 38 per cent of 25-49s agreeing, along with 20 per cent of 50-65s and just 11 per cent of those over 65.
Political divisions also appeared in the poll, with nearly half (47 per cent) of those identifying as Labour supporters saying the interview was appropriate, compared to just 15 per cent of Conservatives.
The interview is reportedly the result of a three-year bid by Oprah to win Meghan’s trust.
When she attended the wedding she had met the duchess only once, despite being described as a ‘friend of the couple’, The Times reported.
Before raising the subject of an interview, she worked with Harry on an Apple TV series and visited Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland in Los Angeles.
It follows news that the couple are expecting their second child. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were ‘overjoyed’ at the pregnancy, revealed on Valentine’s Day.
The decision to take part in the interview risks angering – and embarrassing – the Royal Family. It could also widen the divisions between Harry and his brother, Prince William, and William’s wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Harry and Meghan are recording a TV special with Oprah Winfrey, pictured at their Windsor Castle wedding on May 19, 2018
In the interview, the couple will speak about their move last year and their ‘hopes and dreams for their expanding family’. The programme will air on March 7.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment about the interview, which will be aired six weeks before the Queen’s 95th birthday and in advance of celebrations for Prince Philip’s 100th.
While there was no angry reaction from the palace – it has taken great pains not to get into a public slanging match with the Sussexes – the coldness of the response was evident.
The expected decision to strip the couple of their last remaining royal titles is not being taken as a reaction to the interview.
It is being perceived that the televised chat was agreed because the couple could ‘see the direction of travel’ of future royal roles.
One source told the Mail that it was hoped that the interview with Oprah would provide the couple with the chance to ‘get whatever it is they want to say off their chests and move on’.
Another added: ‘The interview has clearly come about because there is an understanding [with Harry and Meghan] that all remaining formal links with organisations will cease to exist.’
The deal has echoes of Princess Diana’s 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, which she negotiated behind the backs of the Royal Family and caused widespread damage. Oprah interviewed Sarah, the Duchess of York, in 2010.
Harry and Meghan are likely to discuss why they dramatically stepped down as senior royals, but are not expected to reveal all the details that preceded their historic ‘Megxit’ split from the Royal Family which was announced in January 2020.
Sources close to the Sussexes told the London Evening Standard that the couple still had a good relationship with the Queen, the Duke’s grandmother.
A royal source said that as the couple were no longer working royals, any decisions taken with regard to ‘media commitments are matters for them’.
The source added that the Sussexes were ‘under no obligation’ to inform the Royal Household of the interview, which was announced by CBS in a press release.
The US network described ‘Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special’ as an ‘intimate conversation’ including ‘a wide-ranging interview’ with Meghan.
It said the first part will see Oprah speak to Meghan about ‘everything from stepping into life as a Royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure’.
CBS added that they will later be joined by Harry as they ‘speak about their move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family’.
Buckingham Palace, the Ministry of Defence and a spokesman for Harry have been contacted for comment by MailOnline today, regarding the possibility of him losing the right to wear his military uniforms.