Royal snubs, it seems, are like buses. Just hours after it was confirmed that King Charles was too busy to see Prince Harry during the latter’s trip to London, Buckingham Palace announced that the King will hand the Prince of Wales a military honour long thought to be Harry’s in all but name.
By giving Prince William the ceremonial title of colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps, the King has noticeably bypassed his younger son, who toured with the regiment in Afghanistan. The King held the position, as Prince of Wales, for 31 years, and the received wisdom was that he would pass the position to Harry – until, that is, the Duke of Sussex stepped back from royal life in 2020.
Royal insiders have noted the timing of the announcement, which came after a spokesperson for Prince Harry confirmed that he would not be seeing his father during his visit to the UK for an Invictus Games thanksgiving ceremony this afternoon, ‘due to his Majesty’s full programme’.
‘It’s quite a snub,’ said former BBC Royal correspondent Michael Cole. ‘The Prodigal Son is not welcome – not for the present, anyway. In royal terms, this is big medicine. Prince Harry is bound to see it for what it is, the clearest possible indication of the hurt that has been caused.