EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry arranging for a personal letter and tribute to be left at a memorial to mark VJ Day is a painful reminder for the royals, according to an expert
Prince Harry’s secret letter that was placed at a war memorial sends a huge message to the Royal Family following a ‘gut punch”, according to a royal expert.
It emerged that the Duke of Sussex paid a poignant tribute to his grandfather, Prince Philip, in the letter secretly left at the National Memorial Arboretum on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
It is said Harry asked a friend to discreetly leave the note and a wreath of red poppies at the Burma Star Memorial following the national commemorations attended by the King and Queen. Notably, the letter was also placed after Charles and Camilla left to avoid distracting from the service, which honoured the sacrifice of Second World War heroes who fought and died in the Pacific and Far East.
And according to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, the move shows how Harry has left a “gaping hole” in the Firm.
She told the Mirror: “Last week’s VJ Day anniversary was heavy with emotion; a sombre recall of the cost of conflict 80 years after the end of the Pacific War beneath the leafy calm of Staffordshire’s National Memorial Arboretum.
“Thirty-three veterans made the journey and were honoured by King Charles, who assured them they would never be forgotten. A perfect day, but one without mention of his forgotten son, Prince Harry, once the Royal Family’s most effective military figurehead.
“It was only after the King and Queen had departed that a friend of Harry’s discreetly laid the Duke’s wreath, dedicated to his late Grandfather, Prince Philip, who fought in the Pacific War and those who served with him.
“The letter was thoughtful, detailing the ‘unforgiving terrain’ and years of endurance ‘far from home’ that the service personnel endured: it honoured the ‘grit, unity and sacrifice’ of the ‘Forgotten Army’. Its belated discovery at the foot of the Burma Star memorial has served to remind King and country of the gaping hole Harry’s absence has left in the commemorative circuit.
“With two outstanding tours in Afghanistan – one cruelly cut short – the Duke’s easy manner and dashing presence in honorary uniform are much missed.
“Women who have lost sons and husbands in Afghanistan speak to the Duke’s exceptional presence in their time of grief. No one in the Royal Family was a better fit for this most important commemorative role.”
After Harry and wife Meghan quit their royal roles, Harry was forced to give up his honorary military titles. He was also prevented from laying a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday several years ago.
And Tessa explained how this latest letter and wreath is a quiet reminder for the royals. She added: “There is much talk of the Sussexes’ new life in Montecito, of Meghan’s influencer success, of Harry’s difficulties outside the Royal Family, far less attention is paid to his leave of absence from that other institution, the army, and the Duke’s forced abandonment of all his honorary roles.
“Having first laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in 2009, it was a painful reminder of the cost of what he had left behind when in 2020, he was forbidden from continuing the practice.
“Doubling down on that pain was Prince William’s recent appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps in 2024, making Harry’s big brother the leader of the regiment the Duke once flew Apache helicopters for in Afghanistan. In comparison, the Prince of Wales flew search-and-rescue helicopters in Wales.
“One more gut-punch for the estranged Duke, whose long letter honouring the Pacific War veterans was a quiet reminder that Harry has not forgotten the most important role he was forced to abandon when he left the Royal Family, even if his family appears to have forgotten him.”
Tessa Dunlop is the author of Lest We Forget: War and Peace in 100 British Monuments.