Prince Harry was reportedly upset when he was told a wreath couldn’t be laid on his behalf at the Cenotaph on one Remembrance Sunday.
A royal book claimed the Duke of Sussex was “saddened and disappointed” to not have his request followed through in 2020. Harry’s tribute was supposedly refused by the palace, despite the royal serving 10 years in the military.
Harry made the request just months after they announced they were leaving The Firm and had started a new life overseas.
At the time, the duke was stripped of his military roles and titles, this included being named as Captain General of the Royal Marines.
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Sunday wreath request was denied
The immediately 41-year-old reportedly had a wreath made, but after his request was refused, so it remained at Royal British Legion’s Kent HQ, unused and untouched.
Omid Scobie, royal author and supported of the Sussexes, wrote the book Finding Freedom with Carolyn Durand. In the unauthorised biography, which Meghan and Harry later admitted to passing on information to the authors via an aide, it’s claimed the prince’s Remembrance Sunday request was denied because he was no longer ‘frontline’ in The Firm.
A source close to the royal told the authors that he was “saddened and disappointed by the decision”.
They added: “Ten years of service and a lifetime commitment to the military community and this is how it’s been acknowledged by his family.”
The Sussexes paid their own tribute on Remembrance Sunday back in 2020. They were photographed laying a wreath at the Los Angeles National Cemetery, as well as placing flowers on the graves of two Commonwealth soldiers.
The wreath had an inscribed note: “In Memory of the Men Who Offered Their Lives in Defense of Their Country”.
Harry had written: “To all those who have served, and are serving. Thank you.”
Late queen ‘rejected’ the request
Robert Lacey, another royal writer, claimed the late queen rejected Prince Harry’s Remembrance Sunday wreath request as soon as she heard it. He argued most people would consider it as a mark of respect, but the late monarch denied it.
He wrote: “It took her ‘all of two seconds’ to issue a refusal.”
The Daily Mail also penned the Cenotaph ceremony was “sacrosanct” to the late Queen. Therefore, she knew everything that was going to happen as part of the service.
However, the Battle of Brothers author says the monarch saw Harry’s request as a “lack of understanding of what it means for him to be a non-working royal”.
He claimed the duke showed he “had still not grasped the consequences of his momentous choice to sign off from royal duties.”
Duke’s tributes to veterans
Despite the request being denied for Remembrance Sunday in 2020, Prince Harry has continued to support and pay tribute to veterans since stepping down as a royal.
On the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, Harry had a wreath and personal letter placed at Burma Star Memorial. However, it was jours after his dad King Charles led an emotional ceremony at the same location, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Read more: Duchess of Edinburgh Sophie in tears during Remembrance Sunday tribute as she supports Duke of Kent
This week, Harry penned an emotional letter ahead of Remembrance Day, and reflected on British life.
In the letter, titled The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British, Harry spoke about Remembrance Day. He said it is about “honouring those who, knowing that cost, still choose to serve”.
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