Prince William is taking over the King’s colonel-in-chief role of the Army Air Corps. Royal Editor Chris Ship was at the Army Aviation Centre in Middle Wallop where the ceremony took place.
After so much talk in the last week about the King seeing his son, there was finally a meeting today, but with William, not Harry.
Monarch and heir to the throne were completing a joint engagement at a British Army base in Hampshire where the King handed over the Colonel-in-Chief role to the Prince of Wales.
Ironically, it’s the base where the King’s other son, Prince Harry, did his training as an Army Air Corps helicopter pilot.
It was this unit Harry served with during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was a co-pilot, known as Captain Harry Wales.
Today, however, father and older son stood in front of one of the Apache helicopter at the base in Middle Wallop, Hampshire, where the King handed the ceremonial baton to Prince William.
The Duke of Sussex issued a statement last week stating that his father had too many “other priorities” to see Harry during his three-day visit to the UK.
Buckingham Palace made no comment or statement on Harry’s claim.
It was a surprise to many people given the King is still undergoing cancer treatment and had seen Harry shortly after his diagnosis was made public in February.
King Charles spoke about his cancer to one of the veterans he met at the Army Air Corps today.
He said how his treatment, thought to be chemotherapy, had affected him.
It was “terrible losing your sense of taste,” King Charles told him.
After handing over the familiar light blue beret of the Air Air Corps to his son, the King gave William a pat on the arm and left.
The King, as Monarch is Head of the Armed Forces.
Prince William flew helicopters for RAF Search and Rescue when he was stationed in Anglesey in northwest Wales. He can still fly helicopters today.
Prince Harry was in the UK last week for a three-day visit centred around his Invictus Games including a service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Meghan joined her husband at Heathrow Airport on Thursday night to fly together on a joint visit to Nigeria where they have been on a number of engagements all weekend.
The Duchess of Sussex revealed recently that a test had shown she has 43% Nigerian heritage.
Back in Hampshire meanwhile, most of the Army personnel might have been thinking that this honorary Colonel-in-Chief title might once have been destined to go to Harry had things turned out differently, but nobody dared say it.
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