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Royal Family will NOT wear military uniforms and instead wear morning coat with medals at Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral
THE Royal Family will NOT wear military uniforms at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral today.
Members will instead wear morning coat with medals or day dress after fears Prince Harry would be the only male senior royal dressed differently.
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The Duke of Sussex had faced the humiliating prospect of being the only senior man in the royal family wearing civvies after losing his honorary ranks.
There was also said to be “serious Navy displeasure” at being dragged into a row over Prince Andrew possibly wearing an admiral’s uniform.
But a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed earlier this week: "Family will be wearing Morning Coat with medals or Day Dress.
"Members of the Royal Family will not be in military uniform."
It comes as...
- Prince Harry and William won't stand near each other at Philip's funeral today
- The full guest list of 30 attendees revealed
- The Queen will sit alone after arriving in a Bentley with a Lady in Waiting
- The pall bearers at Prince Philip's funeral will be members of the Royal Marines
- Pregnant Meghan Markle will make 'private arrangements' to mark the funeral
- A band of military personnel will walk in front of Prince Philip's coffin
Under Covid rules, members of the congregation will also wear face masks for the service this afternoon.
Social distancing will also be in place for the event at St George's Chapel in Windsor.
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It comes after Harry, 36, was stripped of his three military titles when he quit royal duty with wife Meghan.
Royal protocol now means the Duke — who did two tours of Afghanistan with the Blues and Royals — can only wear a suit with medals at royal functions.
A military source told The Sun the new dress code is "the most eloquent solution to the problem”.
Meanwhile Royal author Phil Dampier said the Queen's decision to scrap military uniform was her way of extending 'an olive branch' to Harry.
'OLIVE BRANCH'
He told The Sun Online: “This is all part of an attempt by the Queen to bring the family together and send out an olive branch.
"Because she didn’t want Harry to be treated any differently from anyone else because she’s anxious for him to heal the rift with his family, with his brother, with his father and to some extent with her really.
"So she’s bending over backwards to not put him under any pressure and not embarrass him."
The author of Royally Suited: Harry and Meghan in their own words, added that the Queen was "ever the pragmatist" who has "sought a practical solution to a very delicate situation.
He said: “It was clearly going to be embarrassing for Harry to be the only male royal not wearing a military uniform, especially ironic as he’s the only one in recent history who has seen active service.
“The best solution was for no-one to wear uniforms so that there wouldn’t have been any embarrassment. I think Harry would have felt he was being shown up as being inferior and cut out of the Royal family if he only wore a normal suit and medals."
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It follows reports that Prince Andrew told the Queen he wished to dress in Admiral uniform for Prince Philip's funeral - despite deferring the title after the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal.
Prince Andrew, 61, was made an honorary Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy in 2015.
He was due to be promoted to Admiral in 2020 to mark his 60th birthday but chose to defer it until he resumes his official duties.
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But a source close to The Duke said yesterday: “The Duke of York is very keenly aware of Saturday’s funeral being a moment for the Duke of Edinburgh, HM and the nation.
"He has neither wish nor intention to distract from that.
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"Speculation on what he may or may not wear is just that, speculation, and no matters of this nature have yet been decided upon.
"The Duke of York will do what is appropriate to the circumstances - he remains stepped back from royal duties.”
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Queen spares Prince Harry’s blushes by banning military uniform for royals at Prince Philip’s funeral