King Charles III has undertaken a rare joint engagement with his son and heir, Prince William, as he officially made him Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, which one royal expert described to The Daily Beast as “a bitter kick in the teeth for Prince Harry.”
Charles arrived by helicopter today for the special ceremony with William where he officially handed over to him command of the army’s airborne unit, of which Prince Harry is the most famous former member. Harry flew Apaches as part of the Air Corps on a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Harry had been tipped to take over as patron of the regiment owing to his connection with it before he quit his job as a working member of the royal family in 2020.
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The palace announced last year that William would be appointed to the role, however the decision to formalize the hand over today was only announced last week—just hours after Harry revealed that his father had declined to see him when he was visiting the U.K.
Charles’ camp subsequently briefed that no request for a meeting was made by Harry.
A Palace spokesperson said last week: “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.”
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.”
