Prince Harry's decision to leave the United Kingdom and step back from royal duties has resulted in a painful distance from the military pageantry he once held dear. His absence from last weekend's Trooping the Colour ceremony, a key event in the royal calendar, starkly contrasted with his new life in the United States, where he watched an NBA basketball game instead.
Harry's Military Background and Lost Roles
Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005 and joined The Blues & Royals. In 2007, he was deployed to Afghanistan for 10 weeks, serving as a forward air controller coordinating airstrikes on Taliban positions. He also served in Helmand Province. After retraining as an Apache pilot in the Army Air Corps, he returned to Afghanistan in 2012 as a helicopter co-pilot and gunner before leaving the Army in March 2015.
General Sir Nicholas Carter, then-Chief of the General Staff, said Harry had "achieved much in his 10 years as a soldier." In 2014, Harry founded the Invictus Games, an international multi-sport event for wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans. He also held three honorary military roles: Captain General Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington, and Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command.
Trooping the Colour 2026: A Contrast of Worlds
Last Saturday, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Catherine, and other royals attended Trooping the Colour, inspecting regiments of the Household Division. Harry, however, was watching game five of the NBA basketball finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. His seat was in the eighth row, far from the front rows occupied by celebrities like Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet.
Adding to the sting, Harry's pre-recorded speech to the Invictus Germany Sports Festival 2026 aired on a giant screen at the same time the Royal Family were heading down The Mall. In that speech, he described his 10 years in the military as a life-changing experience that provided "normalcy" and "burst the bubble" of royal life, calling his military colleagues his "second family."
The Fallout of Quitting Royal Life
Harry and Meghan Markle left the UK in 2020 following a dispute with Queen Elizabeth II over their desire to commercialize their royal titles and become "half-in-half-out" royals. As a result, Harry had to relinquish his honorary military roles. The move has left him disconnected from the military life he once loved.
His attendance at the basketball game symbolizes his new existence in the US, where lucrative deals like their Netflix contract have dried up. According to observers, the US public has grown weary of the Sussexes, and Harry may need to write another book even more bitter than 'Spare' to generate income.
Harry's absence from Trooping the Colour, an event he once reveled in—enjoying the cheers from the crowd and banter with soldiers—now forces him to watch from afar. As one commentator noted, "It's actually quite sad."
