Prince Harry will wear a morning suit at vigils for The Queen

Prince Harry today revealed he will wear a morning suit at the Queen’s funeral and the events leading up to it, as his spokesman issued a loaded statement saying his ‘decade of military service is not determined by the uniform he wears’. 

The Duke of Sussex has been denied the chance to wear military uniform at official events, even though his disgraced uncle the Duke of York will be permitted to do so at the lying in state vigil.

Harry, who saw action on the front line during two tours of duty in Afghanistan, will be in civilian dress for official events including the late monarch’s state funeral. 

Following a series of repots about the decision, the Duke of Sussex’s spokesman said today: ‘[Prince Harry] will wear a morning suit throughout events honouring his grandmother. 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.’ 

Harry, who saw action on the front line during two tours of duty in Afghanistan, will be in civilian dress for official events including the late monarch’s state funeral

Only working royals – which Harry and Andrew are not – are being permitted to dress in uniform at five ceremonial occasions.

These are the St Giles’ Cathedral service in Edinburgh, which took place on Monday, and the coffin’s procession to Westminster Hall, the vigil at the lying in state, the funeral in Westminster Abbey and the committal service in Windsor.

But an exception has been made for Andrew who will wear a uniform as a ‘special mark of respect’ for the Queen when he stands guard around her coffin during the Vigil of the Princes.

He is expected to be joined by the Queen’s other children – the King, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex – at the proceedings during the lying in state later this week.

It is likely to be a bitter blow for ex-solder Harry, who is proud of his decade in the forces, and who was saddened after being stripped of his honorary military roles including Captain General of the Royal Marines by the Queen post-Megxit.

Today a royal expert suggested the Queen would have wanted Harry to be able to wear his uniform during at the funeral and the events leading up to it. 

Camilla Tominey, who is associate editor at the Telegraph, said the decision looks ‘out of step with what his beloved grandmother would have wanted’.

She said the move, which she branded ‘needless friendly fire’, may be due to ‘ongoing concerns’ about the upcoming publication of Harry’s tell-all autobiography.

Prince Andrew wearing a civilian suit while leaving St Giles’ Cathedral following the Vigil of the Princes 

She added: ‘All it has succeeded in doing is give the couple more ammunition for their next salvo against an institution they claim resented their presence from the very beginning.’

Harry was forced to stop wearing military uniform at ceremonial events after he had to give up his honorary titles when he and his wife Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals.

Earlier on Monday, Harry wrote of his special memories of when the Queen attended his passing out parade in 2006 when he became an officer in the British Army.

He told of his ‘first meeting’ with his Granny as ‘my Commander-in-Chief’ – and was believed to be referring to the occasion when the late monarch made him grin and blush while she reviewed the cadets.

A source confirmed Harry – whose rank is a captain – would not be in uniform for any events.

Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

He went on to pay millions to settle a civil sexual assault case to a woman he claimed never to have met.

In January, ahead of his legal settlement, the Queen stripped him of all of his honorary military roles, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and he gave up his HRH style.

The Duke of York in his uniform for an event at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2009 (left) and Harry in 2019 during the Founder’s Day Parade at Royal Hospital Chelsea

Andrew, a former Royal Navy officer who served in the Falklands War, retained his rank as a Vice Admiral, and is expected to wear the coinciding uniform.

Virginia Giuffre sued him for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked by Epstein. Andrew denied the claims.

At the service of thanksgiving in St Giles’ on Monday, Andrew was in a morning suit, while his siblings, including Edward who dropped out of the Royal Marines, wore military dress as they processed behind the Queen’s coffin.

Andrew wore eight medals and decorations – his South Atlantic Medal for service in the Falklands, his Silver, Golden, Diamond and Platinum medals, a Royal Navy Long Service Medals with Bars, Canadian Forces Decoration with Bar and New Zealand Commemoration Medal.

At the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in April 2021, the dress issue was dealt with by the Queen who decided that no members of the royal family should wear uniform.

It was a break with tradition but seen as the most eloquent solution to the problem.

Reports had suggested Andrew was considering wearing the uniform of an admiral.

He was due to be promoted to Admiral in 2020 to mark his 60th birthday, but this did not go ahead following the fallout from his disastrous Newsnight appearance.