Prince William and King Charles are marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, with the heir to the throne showing his loyalty to the crown.
Prince William has been spotted subtly showing his support for King Charles during his speech to kick off the D-Day 80th anniversary celebrations in Portsmouth.
Both William and the King were proudly displaying their military medals, with the Prince of Wales sporting one medal of particular interest – the King’s Coronation medal.
This honour was created to mark the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla on May 6 2023, and is awarded to those who contributed significantly to the ceremony, as well as members of the Armed Forces and veterans.
Both William and Prince Harry have been given one, however Harry has not yet been spotted wearing his in what some have viewed as a snub to his father.
The Duke of Sussex donned a number of medals at the Invictus Games 10th anniversary service at St Paul’s Cathedral, but his Coronation medal was not seen on his lapel.
Prince William is commemorating 80 years since D-Day
Amongst the medals that Harry did wear to the service was one awarded to him by the late Queen Elizabeth for “services to the monarchy”, donning five in total.
As he entered St Paul’s the Duke wore the Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) medal around his neck, with four others pinned to his lapel.
These were the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan, awarded for his service in Helmand Province, his Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Prince Harry never wears his Coronation medal
The Duke of Sussex also noticeably avoided wearing his Coronation medal during a video presentation of the award for ‘Soldier of the Year’, despite wearing four other ones.
However a source told the Daily Mail that the real reason behind his decision not to wear it was more practical than an attempt to get back at the Royal Family.
They explained that the medal had been “swing-mounted” on a short ribbon and needed to be adjusted onto a longer ribbon before it could be worn to “stop it from swinging around”.
Prince William, King Charles and Queen Camilla at the D-Day celebrations
Prince William proudly wore five military medals as he gave a moving speech which left many in the crowd feeling emotional.
He said: “I am deeply honoured to join you today to recognise the bravery of all of those like John Haddock who participated in the D-Day landings, the start of the liberation of France and Europe, that led to victory of the Allied Powers.
“Our guests of honour today are those veterans from the Normandy landing, that came from across our nation and from all walks of life to join in the fight against tyranny.
“Many of those that took up arms had never seen combat before, some were still only in their teens.”