Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may have made the decision to step down as senior members of the royal family on March 31, but there were some things they were sad to leave behind about their former life. In the new tell-all book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of the Modern Royal Family, royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand note that the loss of Harry’s honorary military appointments has hit him the hardest.
“That’s been a tough pill to swallow, and one that has been the most painful for Meghan to witness him go through,” a source close to the couple said in the book. “It’s the one that made Harry emotional.”
These titles included Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Force Commandant of the Royal Air Force Base Honington, and honorary Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy’s Small Ships and Diving Operations.
Harry was later quoted talking to a major at an event, saying, “I am devastated that I am having to step down.”
“It was so unnecessary,” Meghan reportedly told a friend of the decision to strip Harry of his military titles. “And it’s not just taking something away from him; it’s also the entire military veteran community. You can see how much he means to them, too. So why? The powers [of the institution] are unfortunately greater than me.”
As a retired serviceman, Harry will still be allowed to wear his medals. He served in the Army for 10 years rising to the rank of Captain and undertaking two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Harry’s dedication to the armed forces has been clear in much of his professional work. His most noteworthy achievement for the veteran community is the creation of the Invictus Games, an athletic competition for wounded service men and women, in 2014.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan released a statement ahead of the book’s publication, saying, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”
