Prince HarryHis wife Meghan MarkleRecently, Harry returned to New York City to participate in the Salute to Freedom gala. The Duke of Sussex presented medals to five U.S. military vets on board the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. Despite his 10 years of service in the British Army, however, Harry didn’t wear his military uniform. There’s a controversial reason why he’s restricted from wearing military dress in spite of his very public record of service.
Prince Harry Returns To The Big Apple
Prince Harry participated in the Salute to Freedom Gala held in New York City. While walking the red carpet in a black suit, Prince Harry looked sharp with Meghan Markle’s red dress. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also wore red poppies on their formalwear in honor of Remembrance Day, which is celebrated in Harry’s native Britain to honor armed forces members who died in the line of duty.
Though Harry also wore medals he’d earned during his 10-year career in the British Army, he didn’t wear his military uniform, which might have been expected since he was at the event to hand out medals to five very deserving veterans. To facilitate the change in status, Harry and Markle worked out a partnership with the royal family.
Harry: A Not so Great Deal
There are reports that Harry attempted to negotiate for his honorary royal titles including Honorary Air Commandant in RAF Honington in Suffolk and Commodore in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving. But, he failed to achieve that goal.
This isn’t the first time that Harry’s inability to publicly wear his military dress uniform has caused some awkwardness. The royal family infamously decided no one would wear their military uniform for Prince Philip’s funeral in April to avoid giving the impression of a familial divide and any ensuing awkwardness.
Now there’s been renewed scrutiny of this controversial decision with a former royal correspondent, Charles Rae, Argumentation GB News, “Now I’m surprised [that] Harry is going to not wear the uniform in America because he’s not representing the queen and to be fair to the lad he has served twice… he is a former soldier.”
Rae pointed out the mountain of work Harry has done in the past on behalf of wounded soldiers with the Invictus Games, which he’d founded. “He’s done a great deal of work with soldiers who are recovering from injuries they got while serving, and I see no reason why he should not be wearing his uniform for this event in America where he’s handing out medals to American servicemen.”
Harry was able at least to show some of his military achievements to the ceremony via his Medals. The Firm might have been able to strip him of his honorary titles, but they can’t take away his years of service.