Why Prince Harry’s Decision To Leave The Army Fueled Concerns From Queen Elizabeth

Prince Harry’s desire to leave the Army after 10 years of service fueled grave concerns from Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Prince William. The three royals were worried that Prince Harry would follow in the footsteps of Prince Andrew.

Royal author Duncan Larcombe wrote in “Prince Harry: The Inside Story” how Prince William, his dad and his grandmother didn’t initially want the Duke of Sussex to depart from the Army. This is because Prince Harry found his focus and purpose while he was there.

But in the end, the three royals realized that the decision to either leave the Army or continue serving could only come from Prince Harry himself. Larcombe shared his thoughts about the issue and said that the monarch’s concerns may have stemmed from what happened to Prince Andrew.

“When he left the Navy, he struggled for many years to find a role that was suitable,” he said. “He became a trade envoy, but that was the start of a string of controversies over the friends he made and his reputation with the public was damaged beyond repair,” Larcombe added.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry had always been vocal about the difficulty of leaving the Army because it was something he loved and enjoyed. But he ultimately decided to focus on his royal duties when he realized that he couldn’t serve both equally at the same time.

“It is a crossroads,” Prince Harry said. “I’m in the same position now as most people in my year group or my rank would be in, and most of the guys I joined with have left for numerous reasons. It is the case that if we move on then more responsibilities come, and I suppose with wanting to take on slightly more of this royal role, I don’t really feel as though I would be in the right position to take on the careers of more soldiers and to take on the responsibility to fly, for instance,” he added.

Prince Harry left the Army in 2015. Since then he has dedicated his love solely to his royal duties and his family, which includes Meghan Markle and their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.