Prince Harry got emotional when King Charles announced a new honour for his older brother Prince William this week while the Duke of Sussex was in London for the Invictus Games 10th anniversary, claims a royal expert.

Prince Harry was “in tears” when King Charles announced a new honour for his brother Prince William, claims a royal expert.

The Duke of Sussex returned to the United Kingdom this week for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. Shortly after touching down in London, it was revealed that King Charles was too busy to meet with his son, despite weeks of speculation that they could be meeting.

And then, just mere hours after it was confirmed that King Charles would not be meeting with Prince Harry, Buckingham Palace announced that the King would hand the Prince of Wales a military honour long thought to be destined for the Duke of Sussex. Prince William is now colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corp – the regiment Prince Harry served with in Afghanistan.

Prince Harry is back in the UK for a short trip from the States

Royal expert and author Tom Quinn exclusively told The Mirror: “King Charles’ announcement that Prince Harry is being stripped of his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps is a real kick in the teeth for the son who always felt marginalised and underrated. What makes it much worse is that the role is being given to the very man who Harry sees as the cause of so many of his problems – his brother. And the announcement was deliberately made during Harry’s brief visit to the UK to have maximum impact – it shows Harry that he really is no longer welcome.”

Mr Quinn claimed that the senior royals “knew” that the announcement would “really hurt” Harry, before revealing that “he is said to have been in tears when he heard”. He added: “But they have decided the gloves are off and that Harry needs to realise that when you betray the family, you don’t just escape the things you hated doing as a working royal. You also lose the things you loved.”

“Being Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps was something Harry really did enjoy and of which he was very proud,” Mr Quinn went on. “There is a rushed feel to the whole thing too as if they can’t wait to be rid of this troublesome prince – which is why Harry’s role will be transferred to William in just a few days’ time, on 13 May.

“Harry feels his time in the military was a rare happy time in his life when he was judged on his merits as a man not on his merits as a member of the Royal Family.”

Concluding his thoughts on the situation, Mr Quinn added: “Having always hated being the spare in terms of the succession he now finds that one of the few important roles he had as the younger brother has now been handed over to the person Harry himself described as his nemesis. Harry cannot fail to get the message – his last few ties to his old life are being cut and he is being set adrift, permanently.”