Prince Harry is bound to lose his military titles forever as Queen Elizabeth won't likely reinstate her grandson to the roles he has given up when he resigned as a working royal in March 2020.
Royal correspondent Roya Nikkah said that this decision will never give Prince Harry any peace, especially when he's been hoping to get back to his royal military roles.
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, are due to face the Queen for their 12-month review after March 2021. But, Palace aides hinted that the military reinstatements will be completely off the table, the royal expert said.
The Duke of Sussex had hopes that he could re-join in the military honors, such as the Cenotaph Remembrance Sunday commemorations, in the future. However, an aide reiterated that ceremonies like these are reserved for working royals only and Harry no longer has this status. This has always been the protocol in the royal family for military patronages, regardless if it's Harry or someone else asking to perform military roles.
Nikkah's source also said that Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, will likely take over as the new Captain-General of the Royal Marines. Earlier, there were rumors that Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, will be named in this role, which Harry inherited from their grandfather, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Queen hasn't assigned anyone to replace her grandson's military patronages due to the Sussex pair's pending review. Harry is also the Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving, as well as the Honorary Air Commandant of the Royal Naval Command.
Another royal expert is also telling Harry not to keep his hopes up because this will be a "painful" and permanent loss. Royal historian Marlene Koenig said that this is the consequence of leaving a job that had all the perks.
Koenig also said that it won't make sense to reinstate Harry since he has to be in London "all the time." The Duke of Sussex is now based in California and hasn't been back home since the pandemic lockdown in March.
Prince Harry has always been proud of his years of service in the military, where he was treated as an average person and not a royal. Authors of the Sussex biography Finding Freedom said that the Duke of Sussex was more devastated and demoralized when his grandmother stripped him off his military roles than when he lost his HRH (His Royal Highness) title.
