Civvy service Duke must forgo uniform

The Duke of Sussex will be barred from wearing his military uniform after he agreed to step back from his Armed Forces appointments.

Retired service personnel can wear their medals but not their uniform at official engagements once they have left the military.

The Duke was commissioned in 2006 and left the Army in 2015, having undergone two operational tours of Afghanistan twice in that time. In the Army, he was known as Captain Wales.

Under the terms of the deal to step away from royal duties, he will give up all military appointments. The announcement was made by Buckingham Palace on Saturday night.

His resignation from three honorary roles in the military will prevent him wearing uniform at public events such as Trooping the Colour and Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph.

Lord West of Spithead, the former first sea lord, said: “The next time he [the Duke of Sussex] is at a military event he should be in civilian clothes because he is no longer involved with any military units. It is very unfortunate. It is very sad to be losing him.”

The Duke’s highest profile military title was as captain general of the Royal Marines, a role he was handed by the Queen in December 2017, succeeding the Duke of Edinburgh. He was also honorary air force commandant of the Royal Air Force Base Honington and honorary commodore-in-chief of the Royal Navy’s Small Ships and Diving Operations.

By contrast, the Duke of Cambridge, who did not serve in a conflict zone and has also retired from the Armed Forces, can wear his uniform because of his various military honorary appointments.