King Charles III carried out a rare joint mission with his son and heir Prince William, officially naming him Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, something one royal expert described to The Daily Beast as “a bitter kick in the teeth for Prince Harry.”
Charles arrived by helicopter today to attend the private ceremony with William, where he officially handed over command of the army’s airborne unit, of which Prince Harry is the most famous former member. Harry flew Apache helicopters as part of an Air Force tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Harry was nominated to take over as Patron of the Regiment due to his relationship with him before leaving his job as a working member of the Royal Family in 2020.
The Palace announced last year that William would be appointed to the role, but the decision to formalize the handover today was only announced last week – just hours after Harry revealed his father had refused to see him when he was visiting the UK.
Charles’ camp later reported that Harry had made no request for a meeting.
A Palace spokesman said last week: “At the Army Aviation Center in Middle Wallop, His Majesty the King will formally 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 the accession of His Majesty the King, the King was pleased to announce military appointments including the Prince of Wales becoming Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps. This role was previously held by His Majesty, as the Prince of Wales, for 31 years.
Duncan Larcombe, former royal newspaper editor sun The author of Prince Harry’s biography said: “William’s appointment as head of Prince Harry’s old regiment is like a bitter kick in the teeth for Prince Harry. It really got under his skin because it was one of the few things he really excelled at. Plus, the sight of William and his father united so well… Close and clear today is strikingly similar to the events of last week, as Charles did his best to avoid being seen with Harry.
“Infuriatingly humble web fan. Writer. Alcohol geek. Passionate explorer. Evil problem solver. Incurable zombie expert.”
