King Charles III and Prince William deliver ‘bitter kick in the teeth for Prince Harry’

Casting Prince William in the role of the new generation of the monarchy, King Charles III recently joined him at an official event. The latter has, so to speak, officially promoted him to the rank of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, as one royal expert told The Daily Beast, stating that this is “a bitter kick in the teeth for Prince Harry. ”

King Charles III, front right, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Prince Harry and Prince William watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service in Westminster Abbey in central London Monday Sept. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool, File)(AP)

Charles arrived by helicopter for the special ceremony, where he formally handed over command of the army’s airborne unit to William. This unit holds particular significance as Prince Harry, who flew Apaches as part of the Air Corps during his tour of duty in Afghanistan.

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Given Prince Harry’s connection with the regiment, there had been speculation that he would take over as its patron.

However, Harry’s departure from his role as a working member of the royal family in 2020 altered these expectations. Instead, the palace announced last year that Prince William would be appointed to the role. The decision to formalize the handover was only made public last week, coinciding with the Duke of Sussex’s disclosure that his father had declined to meet him during his visit to the UK due to “full programme.”

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Charles’ camp clarified that no formal request for a meeting was made by Harry

“At the Army Aviation Centre in Middle Wallop, His Majesty The King will officially hand over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In August 2023, following His Majesty’s Accession, The King was pleased to announce military appointments including that The Prince of Wales would become Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps. The role was previously held by His Majesty The King, as Prince of Wales, for 31 years,” a palace spokesperson told in a statement last week.

Duncan Larcombe, former royal editor of The Sun and author of a biography of Prince Harry, said, “William’s appointment as the head of Prince Harry’s old regiment is a bitter kick in the teeth for Prince Harry. It really will have got under his skin as it was one of the few things he truly excelled at.”

“Plus, the sight of William and his father so closely and visibly united today makes a striking parallel to the events of last week, where Charles went to great lengths to avoid being seen with Harry.”

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Recently, a royal author, Robert Hardman, highlighted that Prince William fears a second Prince Harry book which can spill out more “secrets.”

“The problem that exists is, at the moment, there is still a trust issue. People are still very wounded, particularly Prince William, that these intimate private childhood family moments all spilled out in Harry’s book,” he said.