Prince Harry to wear military uniform when Queen Elizabeth II’s grandchildren hold vigil

(LONDON) — Prince Harry, the uke of Sussex, will be allowed to wear military uniform when he joins his cousins in holding vigil Saturday at the coffin of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Harry, who had a decadelong military career that included two tours of duty in Afghanistan, is no longer a working royal so he has not worn military uniform at events the past week honoring the queen, who died on Sept. 8 at age 96.

Harry’s father, King Charles III, has requested that for the vigil at Westminster Hall, where the queen’s coffin is lying in state, both Harry and his older brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, wear uniform.

The queen’s six other grandchildren will wear “morning coat and dark formal dress with decorations,” according to Buckingham Palace.

Harry — who, along with his wife Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, stepped down from their senior royal roles in 2020 — will not wear military uniform at the queen’s funeral on Monday at Westminster Abbey.

The same is true for Harry’s uncle Prince Andrew, who stepped back from public royal duties in 2019 due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in August 2019 from an apparent suicide.

Andrew, the third of the queen and Prince Philip’s four children, also lost his military titles and royal patronages earlier this year after his attempt to dismiss a lawsuit from an alleged Epstein victim was denied. One month later, in February, Andrew agreed to settle the lawsuit with the alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre.

Andrew, who served for 22 years in the Royal Navy, has not worn military uniform during the remembrances for his mother, the queen, and will not wear uniform at her funeral. He will be dressed in uniform though on Friday evening when he and his siblings, led by Charles, hold vigil at the queen’s coffin.

The family members’ two planned vigils at the queen’s coffin come as hundreds of thousands of members of the public have filed through Westminster Hall this week to pay their respects to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

The grandchildren’s vigil on Saturday will mark a rare public reunion of all eight of the queen’s grandchildren, who lovingly knew the queen as “Granny.”

The last time the family is known to have gathered prior to the queen’s death was in June, when they celebrated the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, but the public never saw all of the grandchildren together.

Saturday’s vigil will include just the queen’s grandchildren, as their spouses will not attend, according to Buckingham Palace.

The grandchildren, who spent summers with the queen at Balmoral Castle and Christmases with her at Sandringham, are now nearly all adults with 12 children between them.

In a statement following her death, William, who will stand Saturday at the head of the queen’s coffin, said that while the world lost a leader, he had “lost a grandmother.”

“And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of The Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade,” he said. “My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives.”

Here is a look at the queen’s eight grandchildren gathering Saturday to hold vigil at her coffin:

William, the prince of Wales

William, 40, the heir to the throne, is the eldest child of Charles and the late Diana, princess of Wales.

William and his wife Kate, the new princess of Wales, are the parents of three children: Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.

George, Louis and Charlotte are second, third and fourth in line to the throne, respectively.

Harry, the duke of Sussex

Harry, 37, fifth in line to the throne, is the youngest child of Charles and Diana.

Harry and his wife Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, are the parents of two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1.

Archie and Lili are sixth and seventh in line to the throne, respectively.

Princess Beatrice of York

Beatrice, ninth in line to the throne, is the eldest daughter of Andrew and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson.

Beatrice, 34, is married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, with whom she shares a 1-year-old daughter, Sienna Elizabeth, who is 10th in line to the throne.

Princess Eugenie of York

Eugenie, 11th in line to the throne, is the youngest daughter of Andrew and Ferguson.

The 32-year-old is married to Jack Brooksbank, with whom she shares a 1-year-old son, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, who is 12th in line to the throne.

James, viscount Severn

James is the son of Prince Edward and Sophie, the countess of Wessex.

The 14-year-old is 14th in line to the British throne.

The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

Louise is the daughter of Edward and Sophie.

The 18-year-old is 15th in line to the British throne.

Louise falls behind her brother in the line of succession despite being older because she was born after 2011. A 2013 law called the Succession to the Crown Act ended the centuries-old practice of a younger son superseding an elder daughter in the line of succession, but the law only applies to royals born after Oct. 28, 2011.

Peter Phillips

Peter Phillips, 17th in line to the throne, is the queen’s oldest grandchild at 44 years old. He is the eldest child of Anne, the princess Royal, and her former husband, Peter Phillips.

Phillips is the father of Savannah Phillips, 11, and Isla Phillips, 10, who are 18th and 19th in line to the throne, respectively.

Zara Phillips Tindall

Zara Phillips Tindall, 20th in line to the throne, is the youngest child of Anne and Phillips.

The 41-year-old is married to Michael Tindall, with whom she shares three children: Mia, 8, Lena, 4, and Lucas, 1, who are 21st, 22nd and 23rd in line to the throne, respectively.

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