Prince Harry took another blow amid reports that he will no longer be reinstated as the Captain General of the Royal Marines. The Duke of Sussex was hoping to return to his military ceremonial duties after March 2021 but this might not happen anymore.
According to Daily Express, Prince Harry is still technically the Captain General of the Royal Marines. But, the terms of his arrangement with Queen Elizabeth will be reviewed in March, or a year after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave up their royal roles.
Until then, no one has been assigned to his post until the 12-month review. But, sources from the Corps apparently said that it doesn't look like Harry will get the reinstatement.
It's unclear how the Corps has come to such a conclusion but Harry's political activism in the U.S. in the last few months might be a factor. As a result, the Corps is starting to plan their upcoming ceremonies with Prince William in consideration to formally take over the Duke of Sussex's roles.
By June 2021, the Corps will be observing an important event, the 260th anniversary of the Battle of Belle IIe and they need a Captain General. If pandemic restrictions will allow, a celebration will take place with Prince William as the royal figure.
In a statement, the Corps confirmed that they have decided to extend an invitation to Prince William. The Marines also think that having a royal figure like Prince William will boost the regiments morale and increase recruitment.
In February, there have been speculations that Princess Anne, the Queen's daughter, will be appointed as Harry's replacement as the first woman Captain General. But Buckingham Palace decided not to pursue this arrangement since the Princess Royal has enough of work and a very busy working calendar.
The Palace couldn't appoint Prince Andrew as Harry's replacement since he also stepped down from his royal duties in November 2019. Prince Edward, the Queen's youngest son, didn't finish his training with the Royal Marines in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, an ex-British Army chief openly pleaded to Prince Harry to return to the U.K. and help the veterans who still need him. General Sir Richard Dannatt said in an interview with The Sun that Harry and Meghan are now involved with other things that they might have overlooked their other charities, especially with the veterans.
Dannatt said that he doesn't want to criticize Prince Harry for making his choices. However, he hopes that the situation will soon change and that the Duke of Sussex returns to take up more of his work for the U.K. and the monarchy. The former chief said that he wrote a letter to Prince Harry, who did care about the veterans during his time with the royal family.
