Prince Harry and Prince Andrew might be the only living members of Queen Elizabeth II's immediate family to have served in the military in wartime, but strict royal protocols meant they did not wear a uniform during the monarch's funeral.
According to People, only royals that are “working members of royal family who hold military rank” were permitted to wear their uniforms at the funeral. Prince Harry was stripped of his military titles after leaving the royal family and moving to the United States, per The Guardian.
Prince Harry, who served for ten years in the Army and did two tours in Afghanistan, has not been permitted to wear military uniform because he is not a working member of the Royal family. Instead, he will wear a morning suit.
According to protocol, only active and working royals may be permitted to wear their military uniform at the Queen's funeral. Following his separation from the royal family, Harry was also stripped of his honorary military roles including Captain General of the Royal Marines.
Harry's military uniform was decorated with Golden, Diamond, and Platinum Jubilee medals and the Army Pilot Wings along with his Afghan medal. The ER initials, though, were removed from his shoulders, which left the prince heartbroken.
Harry and Meghan made the choice to give up their His / Her Royal Highness (HRH) titles, meaning that they won't be referred to by their "Royal" names. This means that yes, Harry no longer wishes to be referred to as 'Prince'. Interestingly, however, the Duke of Sussex is still fifth in line for the throne.
Prince Harry has denied he will ever return to work as a full-time member of the royal family.
Typically, royals are buried in elegant formal clothing and jewellery. This is often a combination of clothing provided by family members and/or loved ones, and clothing commissioned specifically for the funeral.
Prince Harry served for close to a decade in the British armed forces, but since he stepped down from his royal duties in 2020, Prince Harry is considered a non-working royal. Because of this, he cannot wear his military uniform and is not permitted to salute as other working members of the royal family did.
Only working royals – which neither Harry nor Andrew are – are permitted to dress in uniform at five ceremonial occasions. One of those took place on Monday at a ceremony at St Giles' Cathedral. A 22-year-old was arrested after shouting abuse at Andrew as the Queen's funeral cortege made its way along the royal mile.
They are forbidden from wearing military uniforms since two of the Queen's close relatives served in the military during a fight.
However, Harry was ultimately allowed to wear his uniform while standing vigil at the late monarch's coffin alongside the Prince of Wales and Her Majesty's six other grandchildren at King Charles III's request.
Prince Harry and Prince Andrew might be the only living members of Queen Elizabeth II's immediate family to have served in the military in wartime, but strict royal protocols meant they did not wear a uniform during the monarch's funeral.
For centuries, Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses have been placed in lead coffins to better preserve their bodies. The tradition dates from a time when modern methods of preservation were not yet available – using formaldehyde to preserve bodies was not discovered until 1869.
Why are Royal coffins lined with lead? Royal coffins are lead-lined, creating a lead casket inside the oak coffin, to help preserve the body for longer in an airtight seal while the deceased is lying in state and for when they are laid to rest above ground.
The horses pulling the carriage were then unharnessed and improvised ropes were attached to the gun carriage so the team of sailors brought could carry the coffin safely for the rest of the route.
Prince Harry and Meghan no longer receive money from the Royal Family and have a series of commercial arrangements with a number of companies.
So what will Prince Harry inherit from Queen Elizabeth? Representatives told Forbes in 2021 that Harry was not a beneficiary of any of the $100 million left to the royal family by his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother.
The answer, it seems, can be summed up in three words: planning, parenting and regrouping. Parenting is part of the reason the Duchess decided not to come to the Coronation, friends have said, as it falls on the same day as Prince Archie's fourth birthday.
Can Harry and Meghan legally lose their Duke and Duchess titles? Legally, the monarch has no powers to remove a family member's royal titles - it would require an act of parliament to actually happen.
Under British royal protocol, both Lilibet and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the couple's 3-year-old son, are entitled to the titles of princess and prince as grandchildren of the sitting U.K. monarch.
Since stepping back from royal life, Harry and Meghan have focused on making money through media ventures, such as the podcast, Harry's tell-all autobiography Spare and an agreement with Netflix to producing streaming content, including a docuseries about their relationship with Britain's royal family.
The duke wore a suit for all but one royal events when he returned to the UK following the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, but he was allowed to display his medals on every occasion.
The King led his family and numerous military personnel in both salutes. Prince Harry and Andrew, who were both wearing morning suits, were not allowed to salute because it is a tradition and a duty that is only performed by people who are in uniform.
However, due to his status as a non-working member of the royal family, the Duke of Sussex was without military uniform at the service. "Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex will wear a morning suit throughout events honouring his grandmother," a spokesperson for Harry told E! News on Sept.