Prince Harry Just Underscored His ‘Distance From the Royal Family’ Without Saying a Word
Prince Harry is showing how “distance[d]” he is from King Charles III and the rest of the British royal family. How? With what he’s wearing, or rather not wearing. Just days before he’s set to return to England for the anniversary of the Invictus Games, the Duke of Sussex wore a handful of military medals with a special nod to his father notably absent.
Harry didn’t wear a King Charles coronation medal in an awards video
It was a rare occasion on April 24, 2024, when the world got a glimpse of Harry donning his military medals. In a video message, he congratulated Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks at the Military Times Service Members of The Year awards for receiving the Military Times Soldier of the Year Award.
The father of two lost his royal military associations when he left royal life in 2020. Since then Harry’s medals and uniform have become the subject of much public discussion on numerous occasions. Think: His father’s coronation as well as the funerals of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II.
Recorded at his and Meghan Markle’s home in Montecito, California, Harry, who is a 10-year veteran of the British Army, wore a suit and tie with four medals pinned to his chest.
They included his Afghanistan operations medal along with Queen Elizabeth II Golden, Diamond, and Platinum Jubilee medals. Not alongside them, however, was a coronation medal for his father, King Charles, to mark his crowning on May 6, 2023.
Not wearing a coronation medal ‘emphasizes’ the ‘distance’ between Harry and the royal family
According to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, the absence of a coronation medal alongside Harry’s other hardware was telling.
“Those eligible who were involved in the coronation were given a medal,” Fitzwilliams told Newsweek. “The Sussexes do nothing by chance, and this clearly emphasizes or is intended to emphasize his distance from the royal family.”
The publication noted previous media reports about Harry potentially receiving a coronation medal after his father’s crowning haven’t been confirmed. The same could be said for “any potential reason why he may have chosen not to wear it if he does have one in his possession.”
According to the publication, coronations are similar to other anniversaries for monarchs, where they mark the occasion with medals. King Charles, they noted, is believed to have followed the tradition.
His oldest son, Prince William, 41, and other British royals have since been seen wearing coronation medals. This, they claimed, makes the absence of a medal on Harry “all the more notable.”
Previously, Harry was spotted without a coronation medal in a November 2023 “Stand Up for Heroes” video.
Prince Harry ‘undoubtedly’ wants to see King Charles when he’s in London
When Harry marks the Invictus Games anniversary, the service may not be all he has on his schedule. According to Fitzwilliams, the 39-year-old probably wants to sit down with King Charles.
“So far as Harry is concerned, yes, undoubtedly, I would have thought he would want to see his father,” he told The Sun.
If Harry does meet with the king when he’s in England, it’d mark their second in-person visit of 2024. In February 2024, Harry traveled to London to see his father shortly after Buckingham Palace announced the monarch’s cancer diagnosis.
Since then, Harry’s remarked he wants to see family “as much” as possible on U.K. visits. Meanwhile, King Charles is headed back to public-facing duties following treatment.
