Will Queen Elizabeth Give Prince Harry’s Stripped Military Titles to Prince William?
Buckingham Palace recently announced that Queen Elizabeth has decided to take away Prince Harry’s military titles and patronages. This makes it official that Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex will not be returning as senior working royals.
Does this mean the queen could possibly hand over Harry’s titles to Prince William?
Can Queen Elizabeth ban Prince Harry from wearing his military uniform?
When Her Majesty formally takes away her grandson’s military titles and patronages in the coming week, it’s possible that he will no longer be able to wear his military uniform at future engagements.
According to Express, Harry could be “banned” by Queen Elizabeth from wearing his ceremonial uniforms. This is because retired Armed Forces personnel in Britain are not usually allowed to wear their uniform at official engagements.
They are, however, allowed to wear their medals.
The reason that Prince Harry wore his uniforms after his retirement at public events is because of his honorary titles. This is obviously a unique situation without much precedent. The uniform ban isn’t automatic, either. If he wanted to wear one of his uniforms at a specific event, there is a procedure in place for Harry to do so when appropriate.
Before he stepped down as a senior royal, Harry held the titles of 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 Naval Commands’ Small Ships and Diving.
Will Queen Elizabeth give Prince Harry’s titles to his brother?
According to Marie Claire, the Queen’s decision to strip Harry of his honorary military titles is a disappointment for him. He was reportedly trying to work out some kind of solution that would allow him to keep those titles despite his royal exit.
Queen Elizabeth will now be reassigning these titles to other members of the royal family. And some royal insiders are concerned about the queen giving Harry’s old titles to Prince William. Most notably, they are worried about William getting Harry’s “most treasured” title – Captain General of the Royal Marines.
One royal insider noted that Harry and William’s relationship is already strained.
If William received a title that was so important to Harry, it could make things worse. But, neither brother actually has a say in who gets what.
“Ultimately, it’s the Queen’s decision. The posts are in her gift,” noted one insider.
The hardest-working royal will reportedly be handed Prince Harry’s honorary titles
The rift between William and Harry has been well documented over the past few years. Some insiders may be concerned about things souring even more if William gets Harry’s titles. But, according to The Mirror, that’s not going to happen.
“Who takes over from Harry is a thorny issue in the family so giving the Queen the final say is the right thing to do,” the insider said.
The palace will make the official announcement before March 31. This is the deadline for the one-year Megxit review that the queen, William, Harry, and Prince Charles agreed to at the Sandringham Summit in January 2020. However, the queen will probably not name any replacements for Harry until the summer.
Many believe that Princess Anne will take on Prince Harry’s honorary military titles. As the busiest working royal in the family, Anne already has 33 other honorary military titles.
As for Harry and Meghan, they will sit down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview that airs March 7 on CBS. Last year they moved to Montecito, California, where they are raising their son Archie Harrison. They are currently expecting their second child.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have also signed deals with Netflix and Spotify.
