King Charles’ disdain for Prince Harry could be a costly mistake

King Charles III appeared to ignore Prince Harry twice on the first day of his youngest son’s visit to Britain, even as the duke highlighted the needs of veterans.

The Duke of Sussex is in London to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, his tournament for wounded members of the armed forces, including through a Thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday.

Hours after Harry’s arrival on Tuesday, his spokesman confirmed that he would not be able to meet the king due to Charles’ schedule and “other priorities.”

Speculation has increased in the British media that father and son will meet in what could be a positive sign for their relationship and in a context in which the king is still recovering from cancer.

A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said: “In response to the numerous inquiries and ongoing speculation about whether or not The Duke will meet his father while in the UK this week, unfortunately this will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.

“The Duke of course understands his father’s notes of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”

There has been no official comment from the palace to explain why Charles did not meet Harry, leaving his motives somewhat open to interpretation.

But hours after this revelation, Buckingham Palace announced a ceremony to award Prince William a medal that was previously intended for Harry.

Multiple aspects of the engagement, scheduled for Monday, appear, whether intentionally or not, specifically designed to impress Harry.

Prince William will officially be appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, Prince Harry’s former regiment, in which he served as a co-pilot of an Apache helicopter on the front line in Afghanistan between September 2012 and January 2013.

The appointment was announced last summer, but the announcement of the ceremony itself and the choreography of the day may have been traumatic for Harry, not least because of the timing and wide interpretation in the British media.

Even relatively sober independent He presented it as a “disdain” and a broadsheet times It went with the headline: “King prefers William over Harry for Air Force honour.”

The King will unveil a painting relating to the AH Mk.1 Apache aircraft that was in combat in Afghanistan in 2007, which will be included in an exhibition at the Army Aviation Museum.

This is the same year that Harry began his first tour in Afghanistan, and Charles and William will continue to pose together in front of an Apache helicopter.

A palace press release said: “Finally the Prince [William] He will leave the base by embarking on an Apache flight to deepen his understanding of the equipment’s capabilities and learn more about the people who fly and support it.

Naturally, if Harry were still a member of the royal family, there would be no need to “deepen his understanding of equipment capabilities” as he had been trained to operate Apache helicopters in combat.

Charles and William could, of course, defuse any potential crime that might occur if they praised Harry’s service on the front line in Afghanistan during the engagement itself.

Royal fans will have to wait and see what happens, but some may think it’s particularly unlikely given the fact that Charles was unable to meet Harry.

However, a major risk factor for the King and Palace is the belief that they are actually attacking Harry over his strongest subject, his military career.

Harry served on the front lines in Afghanistan, while Charles and William did not, and for a decade he hosted an internationally respected major tournament to support veterans, which neither of them do.

Despite all the hostility towards Harry, there remains respect in both Britain and America for his military work as a soldier and defender.

In the run-up to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, Piers Morgan, a committed critic of Harry and Meghan Markle, defended Harry’s right to wear his military uniform in support of his grandmother after the palace initially denied him the opportunity.

The symbolic messages regarding William’s new role also serve as a reminder that honorary military titles can be given to any member of the royal family regardless of whether they have achieved their rank or not.

This risks making the functioning of the monarchy seem like an elaborate dress-up game. Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, said: Newsweek: “It’s all just cosplay and it’s all just trying to find ways to make themselves relevant and important.

“In my opinion, and in the opinion of many of the former military personnel that we have among our members, it is completely inappropriate for them to wear medals and uniforms that they did not earn. They need to stop using the military as a tool.” “Play the thing.”

Take, for example, Prince Edward, who dropped out before completing basic training for the Royal Marines. He no doubt has his reasons, but as a member of the royal family, he is allowed to wear military uniform during royal events, including the Queen’s funeral, while Harry, who served on the front lines, is not.

The reason is that he has eight honorary military titles, including for example Royal Honorary Colonel of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry and The London Guards, because someone needs to hold those titles and is a serving royal.

In a context where Charles and William have already outmaneuvered Harry in the court of public opinion in Britain, they are now at risk of exposing their fundamental weakness and Harry’s strength by choosing the wrong battlefield.

On the other hand, if Charles and William don’t lash out at Harry, they could offer some sort of official explanation as to why Charles hasn’t met his son, and perhaps consider acknowledging the 10-year anniversary. The Invictus Games exist to support wounded veterans.

The British government was represented at a conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games Foundation on Tuesday, where Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer was in attendance and may return to St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday.

However, the royal family has so far said nothing in support of Harry’s project, even though it was launched in 2014 when he was a working royal and the king had not found time to meet his son.

Jack Royston is NewsweekChief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston And read his stories on Newsweek‘s Kings page on Facebook.

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