Prince Harry Wears His Military Medals During a Virtual Appearance Despite Uniform Ban

Prince Harry sported his military medals during a virtual appearance in New York City, and the Duke of Sussex couldn't help but showcase his sense of humor. Aside from his delivery, the Duke of Sussex decided to don his military metals despite being banned from wearing his uniform at King Charles' coronation and Queen Elizabeth's funeral.

On Monday, November 6, a video of Harry played at the 17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes event, and the duke made fun of his signature red hair.

“Due to the shockingly low representation of gingers last year, and out of respect for my fellow endangered species, here I am, reporting for duty,” Harry jokingly said. “As someone who never gets scrutinized, I haven’t even had to prepare much.”

The royal later mocked his new reality in California.

“But out of an abundance of caution, I have been working on this particular act for quite some time and everyone I know tells me it’s perfect. And no, these aren’t people who just tell me what I want to hear, these are people like my finance manager, my lawyer, and of course, my reiki healer,” Harry teased.

Shortly after saying several witty lines, the prince shifted the crowd's attention to his time in the military.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, service is what happens in the quiet and the chaos,” he stated. “And whether we are wearing the uniform or not, we must continue to uphold the values we learned side by side on the base, on the drill square and on the battlefield.”

"Values of service, values of honor and integrity and values of togetherness and solidarity," he concluded.

Harry's decade in the armed forces was an important part of his life, and after retiring, he has dedicated himself to advocating for veterans. The Royal Observer reported the Invictus Games founder focused on the signature camouflage during his 2023 opening oration.

"A week ago I stood here and told you about the significance of being able to wear your nation's flag again," the author shared. "So many of you have told me that hit you right here. For many of you the uniform you’ve been wearing this past week will give you a new story to tell."

"And for others, it may give your old uniform new meaning," he continued. "But I’m here to remind you that after all of this, you don’t need to rely on a uniform, nor should you feel lost without one. Because everything you need is already within you."

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In his Netflix docuseries Hearts of Invictus, Harry revealed the emotional toll being deployed had on him.

“I can only speak for my personal experience, my tour of Afghanistan in 2012 flying Apaches, somewhere after that there was an unraveling and the trigger to me was actually returning from Afghanistan,” the Spare author said.

"But the stuff that was coming up was from 1997, from the age of 12, losing my mum at such a young age, the trauma that I had I was never really aware of, it was never discussed," he added.

Harry was quoted by The New York Post.