Harry Was "Devastated" the Queen's Initials Were Removed from His Military Uniform for Her Final Vigil

This weekend, in the lead-up to Queen Elizabeth's funeral, the late monarch's grandchildren stood vigil around her coffin in Westminster Hall. The historic moment was the subject of some drama, as the Palace went back and forth over whether or not Prince Harry could wear his military uniform since he's no longer a working royal.

When Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down from the working royal life, he was stripped of his honorary titles, which impacted his ability to wear his military uniform at official events. While palace officials had reportedly banned Harry from wearing his uniform initially, they reversed course on the decision after news broke that an exception was being made to allow his uncle/notoriously disgraced royal Prince Andrew to wear his military uniform when he stood vigil with the rest of the Queen's children on Friday.

"The reversal—first reported by The Mirror—follows Harry’s statement saying his “military service is not determined by the uniform he wears”, but it is understood the Palace caved to public sentiment after thousands complained about the decision to ban him and not Prince Andrew," royal correspondent and author Omid Scobie explained on Twitter Thursday.

Although Harry was ultimately allowed to wear his military uniform for the occasion (reportedly at the request of his father, King Charles), there was still an apparent slight involved when Harry realized that the Queen's initials, "ER," had been removed from the patch on the shoulder of his jacket (but not, notably, from the shoulder of his brother William's jacket).

According to a report from the U.K. Sunday Times' royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah, Harry was "devastated" by the removal of the Queen's initials to find the queen’s “ER” initials had been removed from the shoulder and even reportedly considered not wearing his uniform to the vigil as a result.

"He is heartbroken," a friend of Harry's told the Sunday Times (per the Daily Beast)."To remove his grandmother’s initials feels very intentional."

As Us Weekly reports, Buckingham Palace hasn't publicly explained why the Queen's initials appear to have been removed from Harry's uniform for the vigil.  

Video: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's California life

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