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By Jack Royston
Chief Royal Correspondent
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Prince Harry was praised in the British press for paying his respects to Britain's war dead during a discreet appearance at a small town Remembrance Sunday service while King Charles and Prince William led the national ceremony in London.
The Duke of Sussex served on the front line in Afghanistan but as a non-working royal was not invited to take part in the main service at the Cenotaph alongside family members, who have not seen active combat.
Last week, Newsweek was told he would mark the occasion privately and on Sunday The Sun published photographs of him in the crowd at a small service in Brackley, an English town with a population of around 16,000, as of the 2021 census.
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Why It Matters
In past years, Remembrance Sunday has been a source of conflict between Harry and the monarchy, particularly in 2020 when the palace stopped a wreath from being laid at national war memorial at the Cenotaph on his behalf.
Harry was facing the prospect of watching family members, who have never been on the front line, dressed in uniform while he was relegated to the sidelines. However, after being spotted in Brackley his own efforts have made the national press anyway. At the same time, he has avoided a protest of the kind that in 2020 fueled the conflict with his family.
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Prince Harry's Remembrance Sunday Appearance
Harry appeared to attend the service alone and certainly without Meghan. The Brackley branch of military charity the Royal British Legion confirmed online that he had not asked them to include him in the day's events. The Royal British Legion runs the annual poppy appeal, which raises money for the families of service personnel, and the charity is a central part of remembrance.
The branch's official Facebook account posted: "As Chairman of Brackley Royal British Legion I wish to thank Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, for attending our Remembrance Sunday Parade today.
"He made no formal announcement of attending, he didn’t request any special treatment. He quietly stood on Parade with his medals and paid respect. I personally thanked him for attending. I feel sad the press that chose to post the photographs so quickly. Your Royal Highness it is an honour you attended our Parade."
While the branch chairman expressed sadness over publication of the photos, the discreet approach appeared to pay off for Harry in the British media.
Among the positive reception, the Daily Express ran an opinion piece headlined: "Prince Harry’s just played an absolute blinder—it's the smartest thing he's done."
King Charles and William Mark Remembrance
Meanwhile, Charles led the royals during the sombre Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in London, alongside Prince William, Prime Minister Andy Burnham and other leading politicians.
Charles' wreath was based on one produced for his grandfather, George VI, while Queen Camilla's resembled one for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
The king, who is commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, wore the uniform of the Marshal of the Royal Air Force while Prince William laid a wreath wearing the uniform of the Lieutenant Colonel of the Blues and Royals.
Harry's 2020 Wreath and Conflict Over Remembrance
In 2020, on the first Remembrance Sunday after the Sussexes quit the monarchy, Harry had arranged for a wreath to be laid at the Cenotaph on his behalf while he remained in California. At the time, the COVID pandemic had stopped international travel making attending in person nearly impossible.
However, the palace intervened to block the laying of the wreath, sparking an international briefing war between the two sides.
At the time, Robert Lacey, author of biography Battle of Brothers, told Newsweek: "I think this is an indication that things are worse than we thought. If everything was hunkydory there seems no reason why a wreath should not have been laid in Harry's name.
"If the royal family or the palace wanted to co-operate then it would seem to be a perfectly reasonable request to make that could have been fulfilled. I don't think it augurs well for the prospects of a reconciliation."
And in the biography Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, reported that the prince was "saddened and disappointed by the decision."
"Ten years of service and a lifetime commitment to the military community and this is how it's been acknowledged by his family," they wrote.
Analysis
Harry is preparing to host the Invictus Games, his Paralympics-style tournament for the military community, in Birmingham, England, in July 2027, making his relationship with the British military particularly important in the run up.
To have done nothing visible to mark remembrance would therefore have risked undermining his relationship with that very community at a crucial time.
However, attempting to get involved in the national service alongside the working royals, or voicing disapproval at being prevented from doing so, would have inflamed the royal rift at a time when he has been working to repair relations.
The fact a photographer at The Sun managed to capture Harry's attendance at the Brackley Remembrance Sunday service and bring his presence to national attention means the prince got to have his cake and eat it too, sidestepping any conflict with the royals while also showing the military community he wanted to pay his respect to the fallen in his own way.
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