Prince Harry and wife Duchess Meghan will be attending the mourning ceremonies for Queen Elizabeth II as part of the royal family in the coming days, but in a blow to the Duke of Sussex, royal protocol will not allow him to dress in military uniform to pay his respects to his late grandmother.
All working royals must wear military uniforms to the ceremonies being held for the queen during the period of mourning proclaimed by King Charles III. And even as a non-working royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was granted permission to wear the uniform as a mark of respect for the queen at the final vigil for her.
But Harry, who stepped down as a senior royal in 2020 to move to California and start a new life with Meghan, was not offered the same treatment.
A source confirms to BAZAAR.com that, unlike the exception made for Andrew, Harry has not been granted permission to wear a uniform for any ceremonial events. This is especially shocking, given the fact that he served for 10 years in the British Army and, this morning, referred to the queen as his commander in chief in his touching tribute to her.
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“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,” Harry wrote. “I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over. And as it comes to first meetings, we now honour my father in his new role as King Charles III.”
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The decision of not allowing Harry to mourn his late grandmother in his army uniform also comes after the duke dropped his prior engagements Thursday to fly to Scotland to be with brother Prince William, father King Charles, and the queen during her final hours. While his wife, Duchess Meghan, stayed back in England at the time, she made the decision to pause the release of her next Archetypes podcast episodes during the period of mourning for the queen, out of respect for the late monarch and the family.
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The decision on Harry’s mourning ceremony dress code could have been made by King Charles III, the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, Queen Elizabeth II before her passing, or a combination of people, BAZAAR has learned.
This article originally appeared on Harper’s BAZAAR US.
