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King Charles Makes Major Royal Exception for Son Prince Harry

Yesterday, Prince Harry celebrated his 38th birthday, but it was not a festive moment for the young royal, as he and his wife, Meghan Markle, wait in the U.K. for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral on Monday, September 19.

As we can assume for all members of the royal family, this is probably a tough time for the Duke of Sussex, especially given that his mother, Princess Diana, also passed away close to his birthday back in 1997. However, yesterday the duke's father, King Charles III, made a sweet, fatherly gesture to Prince Harry.

Reported by Hello! magazine, it appears that the new king has requested for his youngest son to wear his Blues and Royals uniform at a vigil for the queen on Saturday.

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This is a major move by King Charles, given that Prince Harry lost all his military titles when he and Markle stepped down from their senior positions as royals back in 2020.

At Prince Philip's funeral last year, no senior royals wore their military uniforms, but the situation will be different for the queen's service.

However, Prince Harry has already confirmed that for the queen's state funeral service, he will not wear his uniform. A representative for the duke told People that he will “wear a morning suit throughout events honoring his grandmother.” They added, “His decade of military service is not determined by the uniform he wears, and we respectfully ask that focus remain on the life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”

So far, Prince Harry has only worn his civilian clothing for the events in honor of the queen. On Wednesday, as Queen Elizabeth's coffin was processed to the Palace of Westminster, the Duke of Sussex donned a black suit jacket and gray slacks.

Thus, it is a powerful signal from his father to allow for him to wear his Blues and Royals uniform at the vigil on Saturday. According to Hello!, the request was made “exclusively” by King Charles, and they wrote, “The change in ruling was made without Harry's involvement.”

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Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

On Saturday, Prince Harry will join Queen Elizabeth's seven other grandchildren for a vigil where the group will stand around the late monarch's coffin in silence for 15 minutes, out of a show of respect.

It is reported that Prince William will stand at the head of the coffin, while Prince Harry will be stationed at the foot.

What a kind move by King Charles.

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Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Joel is the Associate Editor for News & Entertainment and has been reporting on all things pop culture for over 5 years. Before working at PureWow, he served as a Features...