King Charles Takes Over Prince Harry's Former Military Role A Month After Uniform Drama

King Charles III formally took over one of the military roles that his youngest son, Prince Harry, vacated after Queen Elizabeth II stripped him of his military appointments and royal patronages.

The King, 73, announced Friday that he will serve as the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines, taking on the role of captain general. The announcement came on the 358th anniversary of the founding of the Corps of Royal Marines, which was formed in 1664 during the reign of King Charles II.

"It is the greatest possible pleasure to assume the role of your Captain General," the monarch said in a statement, Us Weekly reported. "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."

A year after they announced their decision to step back from their roles as working members of the royal family in 2020, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle officially resigned from all royal duties in February 2021. The decision meant the couple gave up their royal involvement with numerous U.K. charities, and the patronages reverted to Queen Elizabeth II.

The Duke of Sussex, who served in the British Army for 10 years and was deployed to Afghanistan twice, also lost his three honorary military titles, Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command.

Prince Harry took over as Captain General of the Royal Marines in 2017 from his grandfather Prince Philip, who held the role for 64 years, according to People.

King Charles' announcement of his new role comes weeks after his mother Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8.

The King initially banned Prince Harry from wearing his military regalia at one of the final vigils honoring the Queen as the Duke of Sussex is no longer a working royal and does not hold military rank.

The decision received backlash as Prince Harry's uncle Prince Andrew — who was stripped of his own honorary military titles in January after he was accused of sexual assault in 2020 — was allowed to wear his uniform for the occasion.

This led to a spokesperson for the Sussexes to release a statement, obtained by royal correspondent Omid Scobie, saying: "[Prince Harry] will wear a morning suit throughout events honoring his grandmother. His decade of military service is not determined by the uniform he wears, and we respectfully ask that focus remain on the life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."

Buckingham Palace eventually backtracked and allowed Prince Harry to wear his uniform during a final vigil with the Queen's other grandchildren.

But eagle-eyed royal fans noticed that Queen Elizabeth's "ER" initials were missing from Prince Harry's military uniform at the time.

An anonymous friend of Prince Harry's told the Sunday Times of London that the royal was "heartbroken" when his uniform was returned to him from the palace without his grandmother's insignia.

"To remove his grandmother's initials feels very intentional," the friend added.

Earlier this year, Prince William's wife Kate Middleton also took over two of her brother-in-law Prince Harry's former patronages.

The Princess of Wales became the new royal patron of the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League. Queen Elizabeth assigned the roles to Middleton, Vanity Fair reported.