There are gestures that, although intended to be intimate, end up causing quite a stir.
That is what happened with Prince Harry’s secret tribute to his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.
A friend of Harry’s placed a personal letter and a wreath of poppies at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire as a tribute to Philip’s service during the Pacific campaign in World War II.
Up to that point, it seemed like a private gesture, but within days, the detail was already on television.
The Duke of Sussex’s letter was not without emotion. He recalled that his grandfather had served “with quiet humility” and that he always deeply respected those who fought alongside him.
For Harry, the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in Japan had special significance, and he wanted to make that clear in his letter.
The curious thing is that the tribute came just after King Charles and Queen Camilla left the official ceremony, which some interpreted as an attempt to “make a statement” from outside the institution.
And this is where the controversy comes in. Several close associates of the royal family did not take this gesture well. One even told the Daily Mail, “What hypocrisy,” recalling that Philip himself suffered the pain of Harry and Meghan’s public attacks during his final months of life.
The famous interview with Oprah, broadcast while the Duke was in the hospital, remains fresh in the minds of many.
This context leads some to view this tribute not so much as a sincere tribute, but as a contradiction.
In fact, this is not the first time Harry has clashed with the Royal Family over military commemorations. Back in 2021, Queen Elizabeth put a stop to his attempt to appear at the Cenotaph in London.
The queen’s argument was very clear: you cannot choose when to be an active member and when not to be.
For many observers, that red line seems to be repeating itself now, with Charles III, who, they say, should follow his mother’s example and set firmer boundaries for his youngest son.