Prince Harry became emotional upon learning that King Charles had bestowed a new honor on Prince William, according to a royal expert. Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that Prince William, 41, would be made colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps, despite Prince Harry, 39, having served with the unit in Afghanistan.
The timing of the announcement seemed designed to inflict Harry with maximum pain, coming on the same day that he returned to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. According to a Royal family source, who spoke to The Mirror, Harry has been left shattered after learning about the new honor bestowed on his elder brother.
Left in Tears but Helpless
"King Charles' announcement... is a real kick in the teeth for the son who always felt marginalized and underrated," royal expert Tom Quinn told The Mirror on Saturday. "He is said to have been in tears when he heard".
"What makes it much worse is that the role is being given to the very man who Harry sees as the cause of so many of his problems – his brother."
Quinn alleged that the announcement was intentionally made while Harry was in the UK to convey the message that the king's younger son "is no longer embraced."
"They [the royal family] have decided the gloves are off and that Harry needs to realize that when you betray the family, you don't just escape the things you hated doing as a working royal," the expert asserted.
"You also lose the things you loved."
"Harry cannot fail to get the message," Quinn continued.
"His last few ties to his old life are being cut and he is being set adrift, permanently."
Warring Brothers More Distanced Now
Both William and Harry have undergone military pilot training. Harry served in the Army Air Corps during his second deployment to Afghanistan until 2014.
While Prince William didn't participate in active combat, he served as a search and rescue pilot and later as an air ambulance pilot.
Harry was expected to spend time with his father, King Charles, who is battling cancer, upon his return to the UK this week, but the meeting didn't happen.
It remains unclear if the decision to make William as colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps influenced this outcome.
Since stepping down as a senior royal in 2020, Harry has been distant from both his father and his brother. Harry once shared a close relationship with William and his sister-in-law, Princess Kate.
During his recent short trip to the UK, Harry also did not meet with Kate, who is currently fighting her own battle with cancer. The fifth in line to the throne now lives in Montecito, California, with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children.
