Prince Harry's olive branch backfires as Palace feels he ‘hijacked’ memorial

Prince Harry’s attempt at an olive branch with King Charles has seemingly backfired.

Earlier this week, GB News revealed that a friend of the Duke of Sussex “secretly” placed a letter on his behalf at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, where King Charles and Queen Camilla led the VJ Day 80th anniversary service on August 15. 

The note paid tribute to his late grandfather, Prince Philip, who served in the Pacific campaign during World War II.

But not everyone was impressed. “What hypocrisy,” one friend of the Royal Family told the Daily Mail on August 21. “Harry hurt his grandfather deeply during the final year of his life.”

For context, Philip died just weeks after the explosive Oprah interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aired in 2021.

In his letter, delivered after the King and Queen had left the ceremony, Harry wrote: “My late grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, served in the Pacific campaign. He spoke with quiet humility about those years, but I know how deeply he respected all who stood beside him in that theatre of war.”

The Palace, however, reportedly saw Harry’s tribute as “hijacking” the national service of remembrance.

Insiders also noted that working royals, including Prince William and Princess Kate, deliberately refrained from leaving wreaths so the spotlight remained on the King and Queen.