King Charles’ major blow to Prince Harry after memoir bombshell

A day after Prince Harry revealed the title of his bombshell memoir, Spare, his father reminded the Duke who is the boss in the royal family.

King Charles III has given himself the title he stripped away from Prince Harry when the Duke of Sussex quit the royal family and moved to the United States.

The British Monarch will be the next Captain General of the Royal Marines, an honorary military role that has remained vacant since Prince Harry lost his military titles, which also included Commodore-in-Chief of Ships and Diving and Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington.

Buckingham Palace announced that the King would take the role — which is traditionally held by the Monarch — away from his son less than a day after details were released of the Duke of Sussex’s tell-all memoir, Spare, releasing globally on January 10, 2023.

The cover of Prince Harry's upcoming memoir, Spare. Picture: Supplied

Then Prince Charles presents Prince Harry with his flying badges in 2010. Now the King, he has taken one of his son’s highest military honours. Picture: Getty Images

The move comes after speculation the King could show his “ruthless” side and strip Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of their royal titles if they continue to “tarnish” the family in his upcoming memoir.

Publisher Penguin Random House said the autobiography would tell the Duke of Sussex’s story “with raw, unflinching honesty”, with the title being a nod to his nickname as a “spare” to the “heir”, Prince William.

While there had been speculation over whether another family member would assume the role, or if it would remain vacant in the hope Harry would return as a working Royal, the King took the role to mark the 358th anniversary of the Corps of Royal Marines.

King Charles III took the title of Captain General previously held by Prince Harry and Prince Philip. Picture: AFP

“It is the greatest possible pleasure to assume the role of your Captain General,” King Charles said in a statement.

He added that the Royal Marines have a distinguished and unparalleled history, and that he draws inspiration from their courage, determination, self-discipline and capacity to endure.

“I am exceptionally proud to follow in the footsteps of so many members of my family over the last three-and-a-half centuries, all of whom held the role with a deep sense of admiration,” the King said.

Today as the @RoyalMarines celebrate their 358th birthday, The King has become their new Captain General.

His Majesty trained and served alongside the Royal Marines during his Naval career. pic.twitter.com/Dv9IpqL04K

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 28, 2022

The most recent footsteps were of his son, Prince Harry, and the King taking the title for himself has been seen by royal pundits as a shot over the bow to taking more titles away in the future.

Prince Harry, a 10-year British Army vet who served two tours of Afghanistan, took the role in 2017 from Prince Philip, who served as Captain General for 64 years. He lost the honour in 2020 when he quit as a member of the royal family to move to California in February 2021.

Father and son in 2011, when Prince Harry served in the Afghanistan War. Picture: Supplied

Vanity Fair royal editor Katie Nicholl warned last week that Prince Harry and Meghan should prepare “to see the King’s ruthless side” if they continue to tarnish the Royal Family.

“It’s no coincidence that we haven’t seen titles bestowed on Archie and Lilibet,” she said. “There might be a question mark over the future of Harry and Meghan’s titles potentially.”

Buckingham Palace made no comment on the upcoming autobiography, billed as Prince Harry’s “personal journey from trauma to healing”.

“With its raw, unflinching honesty, SPARE is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,” a blurb for the book reads.

Originally published as King Charles’ major blow to Prince Harry after memoir bombshell