On Tuesday, King Charles III announced that Prince William will assume the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps. This regiment holds special significance as it is where Prince Harry served during his deployment in Afghanistan. READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming the transition. “His Majesty the King will officially hand over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,” it read.
According to The Independent, if Prince Harry had not withdrawn from his duties as a senior royal in 2020, he would have been the likely recipient of this honor.
The timing of the announcement is iffy at best, and The Mirror reports that Harry got emotional and was “in tears” at hearing the news of William’s appointment given by Charles—no doubt exacerbated by Charles’ apparent refusal to make time for his younger son while Harry was in the U.K. this week.
“King Charles’ announcement that Prince Harry is being stripped of his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps is a real kick in the teeth for the son who always felt marginalized and underrated,” royal author Tom Quinn told The Mirror. “What makes it much worse is that the role is being given to the very man who Harry sees as the cause of so many of his problems—his brother. And the announcement was deliberately made during Harry’s brief visit to the U.K. to have maximum impact—it shows Harry that he really is no longer welcome.”
Quinn claimed that senior royals knew that the announcement would “really hurt” Harry: “He is said to have been in tears when he heard,” Quinn said. “But they have decided the gloves are off and that Harry needs to realize that when you betray the family, you don’t just escape the things you hated doing as a working royal. You also lose the things you loved.”
William is expected to take over the role soon—on May 13, this upcoming Monday.
Harry remains extremely proud of his decade of service in the British Army, which included two tours in Afghanistan. Quinn added that “Harry feels his time in the military was a rare happy time in his life when he was judged on his merits as a man, not on his merits as a member of the royal family,” he said. “Having always hated being the spare in terms of the succession, he now finds that one of the few important roles he had as the younger brother has now been handed over to the person Harry himself described as his nemesis. Harry cannot fail to get the message—his last few ties to his old life are being cut, and he is being set adrift, permanently.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE
