The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, will not be allowed to wear a military uniform when he hands out medals to veterans in New York on November 10.
On Wednesday, the 37-year-old royal family member is expected to attend the Salute to Freedom Gala onboard the warship Intrepid in New York, where he will pin medals to five US military veterans. The event is part of the Veterans Day commemorations set to take place on November 11.
The prince is no stranger to this kind of event, and he would normally mark such an occasion by donning a military uniform.
However, Harry will have to wear his civvies this time because he was stripped of his honorary military titles last February.
Prince Harry waved goodbye to honorary military titles
Due to Harry and Meghan’s decision to step away from royal duties and become non-working royals, the Queen ordered that the couple lose their royal patronages and military honors.
At a stroke, Harry was forced to say goodbye to his beloved military titles, which included roles of Captain-General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington, and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving.
At the time, Buckingham Palace explained their decision by stating that only working royals could use these titles. The Palace feared these royal titles and accompanying uniforms might have been used by the wayward couple to promote personal projects such as Netflix documentaries or appearances on US Talk Shows.
Instead, Prince Harry is expected to wear a dark civilian suit and will be permitted to wear the four medals that he earned during his time serving with the British Army.
Prince Harry served in the military for ten years and did two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He rose to the rank of Captain.
Prince Harry founded Invictus Games for wounded military personnel
Harry has always been immensely proud of his military service and has tried to maintain a close relationship with past and present serving men and women. He found the Invictus Games, an international sporting event, for wounded, injured, and sick military personnel.
The Invictus non-profit organization “uses the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of all those who serve their country.”
Netflix is set to produce a documentary series called Heart of Invictus, which will document the founding and the evolution of the games. A release date has not yet been announced, but it is expected to be broadcast in 2022.