ROYAL FAMILY
RICHARD EDEN: If Harry has any decency he will hand back his controversial award and give it instead to someone who values of self-sacrifice and service before personal gain
When the Duke of Sussex gave his first speech after quitting royal duties in 2020 to seek his fortune overseas, he voiced both his sadness and indignation that his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, had not allowed him to keep his ties to the Armed Forces.
‘Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding,’ he told guests at a charity event in West London. ‘Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.’
Prince Harry will have been further wounded, say old friends, to see his brother, Prince William, handed the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps by their father, King Charles, at a colourful ceremony at Middle Wallop, Hampshire, last month.
There is a poignancy to the location, as Middle Wallop is where Harry, 39, did his training before serving with the Army Air Corps as co-pilot in Apache attack helicopters in Afghanistan.