On VJ Day, Prince Harry arranged for a friend to place a wreath and a personal letter at the Burma Star Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. In the letter, Harry honored the often-forgotten heroes of the Pacific theater of World War II, honoring their sacrifices and honoring his late grandfather Prince Philip, who fought in the Pacific. When Harry wrote the letter and made the arrangements for his wreath to be placed at the memorial, he probably had no idea that his lazy-ass brother was going to skip the 80th anniversary commemorations. Prince William and Kate sent a curt tweet and continued on with their summer vacation and that was that. Instead of actually talking about William’s dereliction of royal duty, royalists obviously have to talk around the side-by-side comparison. The prince who was pushed out and smeared did more to honor WWII veterans than the prince who demanded an emotional-support mansion. Please allow Tessa Dunlop to explain what this side-by-side comparison is really about!
Prince Harry’s secret letter that was placed at a war memorial sends a huge message to the Royal Family following a ‘gut punch”, according to a royal expert. It emerged that the Duke of Sussex paid a poignant tribute to his grandfather, Prince Philip, in the letter secretly left at the National Memorial Arboretum on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. And according to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, the move shows how Harry has left a “gaping hole” in the Firm.
She told the Mirror: “Last week’s VJ Day anniversary was heavy with emotion; a sombre recall of the cost of conflict 80 years after the end of the Pacific War beneath the leafy calm of Staffordshire’s National Memorial Arboretum. Thirty-three veterans made the journey and were honoured by King Charles, who assured them they would never be forgotten. A perfect day, but one without mention of his forgotten son, Prince Harry, once the Royal Family’s most effective military figurehead. It was only after the King and Queen had departed that a friend of Harry’s discreetly laid the Duke’s wreath, dedicated to his late Grandfather, Prince Philip, who fought in the Pacific War and those who served with him.”
“The letter was thoughtful, detailing the ‘unforgiving terrain’ and years of endurance ‘far from home’ that the service personnel endured: it honoured the ‘grit, unity and sacrifice’ of the ‘Forgotten Army’. Its belated discovery at the foot of the Burma Star memorial has served to remind King and country of the gaping hole Harry’s absence has left in the commemorative circuit. With two outstanding tours in Afghanistan – one cruelly cut short – the Duke’s easy manner and dashing presence in honorary uniform are much missed. Women who have lost sons and husbands in Afghanistan speak to the Duke’s exceptional presence in their time of grief. No one in the Royal Family was a better fit for this most important commemorative role.”
And Tessa explained how this latest letter and wreath is a quiet reminder for the royals. She added: “There is much talk of the Sussexes’ new life in Montecito, of Meghan’s influencer success, of Harry’s difficulties outside the Royal Family, far less attention is paid to his leave of absence from that other institution, the army, and the Duke’s forced abandonment of all his honorary roles. Having first laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in 2009, it was a painful reminder of the cost of what he had left behind when in 2020, he was forbidden from continuing the practice.”
“Doubling down on that pain was Prince William’s recent appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps in 2024, making Harry’s big brother the leader of the regiment the Duke once flew in Apache helicopters for in Afghanistan. In comparison, the Prince of Wales flew search-and-rescue helicopters in Wales. One more gut-punch for the estranged Duke, whose long letter honouring the Pacific War veterans was a quiet reminder that Harry has not forgotten the most important role he was forced to abandon when he left the Royal Family, even if his family appears to have forgotten him.”
That last part is just Dunlop toeing the party line and using the palace’s talking points – King Charles was trying to get under Harry’s skin by appointing William to the honorary Colonel-in-Chief role. The whole point of that farce was “look at us, Harry, WE’RE SNUBBING YOU, pay attention, Harry!” Their cruelty is the message. But what goes unsaid is that William’s laziness is a larger message – that William is only interested in one-upping his brother (in an extremely sad and obvious way), and that William doesn’t give a sh-t about any of this beyond “will it get under Harry’s skin??” Anyway, the real conversation which none of these people want to have is that Harry effortlessly made William look like a lazy, entitled dilettante.
Tessa Dunlop did acknowledge some of this in an interview over the weekend:
Here’s Tessa Dunlop admitting the British press have created the monster that is Willy & Kate.
“… the predominantly right wing press have pushed William and Kate up on this incredible untouchable pedestal. So …understandably, he pretty much feels he can do what he likes.” pic.twitter.com/0R2WOoeKBJ
— Zandi Sussex (@ZandiSussex) August 17, 2025
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red, GB News screengrabs.
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arriving at the Invictus Games 10th Anniversary Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. UK. Wednesday 8th May 2024 -,Image: 871355456, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NORESTRICTIONS, Model Release: no, Pictured: Invictus Games 10th Anniversary, Credit line: JW / Bang Showbiz / Avalon
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- Guests arrive to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- Guests arrive to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- Prince Harry Duke of Sussex attending a St Paul’s Cathedral service to mark the Invictus Games’ tenth anniversary in London, UK. Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Guests attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- Guests attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attending a St Paul’s Cathedral service to mark the Invictus Games’ tenth anniversary Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
William isn’t a pilot. Harry doesn’t have ‘difficulties’ outside of the rf and isn’t on a leave of absence ffs? these people are stupid. This is the usual royalist bs. I’m not seeing any different. It’s rude and offensive, as per normal.
“Leave of absence” is a particularly kind of gaslighting way to decribe a situation where Harry and Meghan were effectivly pushed out. This description really reveal the hidden hope that Harry will one day return – when deep down they know that he never will.
Ah yes, the gaping black hole because Willy refuses to do his job.
Willy’s only untouchable with the rats. He’s fair game to the rest of us. And there is more of “us” than them.
Exhibit# 234,876,800 on “They need him more than he needs them”
Facts!
The BM are really crying for Harry coming back to the UK, but still nothing about Meghan or Archie and Lilibeth. Harry will not return to the UK. It is time to move on.
Of course, only white Prince Harry would be welcomed. Because…
“… Prince William’s recent appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps in 2024, making Harry’s big brother the leader of the regiment the Duke once flew in Apache helicopters for in Afghanistan. In comparison, the Prince of Wales flew search-and-rescue helicopters in Wales.” OK, so they’re framing it as “Harry is miserable” again, but the subtext is clear: Harry deserved that appointment, but Willy didn’t.
It’s like the British press is having a Come-to-Jesus moment about their own role in elevating the Waleses and driving the Sussexes out. But Harry is still suing the Fail, so who knows if this will last. And as someone pointed out on the other thread, all Kate has to do is throw on a tiara and all will be forgiven.
I’m not sure why she’s complaining now. This is what the British press and rota rats and the Leftover Royals all clambered for. And they got what they wanted. The two most hardworking, compassionate, and charismatic royals were forced out and now you (the press/family) are left with lazy, inarticulate royals who are as interesting as a day old bowl of oatmeal.
Also, it wasn’t a forced abandonment of his honorary military appointments, it was a stripping of those appointments by the queen and by Chuckles in an effort to punish and humiliate Harry. Call it what it was, Dunlop. I hate the way they all continue to tiptoe around what really happened but at least she can admit that they miss Harry and did him dirty.
When are people like Dunlop going to accept the part they played in all of this? If they had done their jobs properly then there wouldn’t be this “gaping hole” in the monarchy. Instead they gleefully went along with the palace(s) narrative of “William good, Harry bad.” If just one of them had pointed out how spiteful it looks that the one member of the “senior” royals who had
actively seen combat was being stripped of all his military patronages, then a lot of the nonsense we’re seeing now wouldn’t have happened.
Gosh, I get so angry when these vindictive trolls start acting as if they had nothing to do with this mess. They allowed the palace(s) to drive away a respected veteran without so much as a bye your leave. They were practically doing somersaults at the thought of Charles and William taking away Harry’s patronages and now they have the bare faced cheek to talk about “gaping holes.” GMAFB!
It’s hard to do a 180 and write that Willy is bad, Harry is good.
How do you deprogram after decades of rats calling Harry the dumb one, the naughty one? To his credit, Harry was never once called lazy.
Karma is delivering so well and will continue to deliver.
Dunlop should have written out what she said in the interview bc it was more to the point. And honestly, I don’t know that it was a gut punch to Harry when William was appointed head of his former regiment. As a former soldier, I’m sure Harry knows that every person in that regiment is important, not just the one at the top. And he would have likely felt sorry for the left-behinds bc taking glee in such a silly snub is beyond sad and childish. It’s also sadistic how the reporters love to imagine everything as a “gut-punch” to Harry when it’s more likely a shrug and an eye-roll at their petty games.
Agreed. Harry knows the true value of respect amongst his soldier peers.
Do I think Billy Idle as CIC commands the same respect as Harry? Hell no. The soldiers know, the people know and whatever satisfaction Willy derived, it was short term. Willy hasn’t been photo-opped seen since the AAC. Must be a once a decade visit only 😂 not exactly inspirational.
Tessa Dunlop actually spoke those words about William being entitled for skipping the memorial last year of the son in law of Prince Michael of Kent. The clip shows below references to that.
That said, it’s clear the media know they created a monster. Chris Ship was next to her not interrupting or disputing her statements and William thinking he can do anything.
Leave of absence is such a peculiar phrase to use here. It showed the understood but rarely outright said talking points. If Harry would just leave Meghan and come back, he could return to his role as the affable workhorse popular with the unwashed peasants so William can stay on his pedestal as untouchable.
It’s. Never. Going. To. Happen.
Even if Harry and Meghan break up, he’s not coming back. He knows his worth now, it’s no longer measured by the RR and BRF.
Yes indeed a Harry shaped gaping hole which none of the leftovers can ever fill. Here we have them saying that Harry the scapegoat was actually the one who did the WORK!! What they have now is two grifters looking for admiration and glory but who are only willing to tweet or make crap videos because they are too busy taking vacation after vacation and collecting houses.
Well said @Susan Collins!
To be fair to the British media and the royals, they didn’t WANT the Sussexes to leave England, they just wanted the Sussexes to stay so they could be pilloried in the tabloid! Doing so would embiggen the perennially-disappointing William/Kate while the Sussexes’ successes could be used to support/cover for the failings of the royal family and the monarchy as a whole.
This isn’t just a matter of the dog catching the car, it’s the dog realizing the car had a dead battery and that’s why it was easy to catch.
They absolutely wanted Meghan to leave. That was the talking point from before the wedding.
The royals definitely wanted Meghan gone but I don’t think the press wanted that outcome because she sells. THey were planning to dine out on her forever.
EL-OH-EL at the total family appearing to have forgotten Harry. They watch everything he and Meghan do and brief bitterly about it copiously.
The clip is interesting – she acknowledges “work-shy William,” said that Kate made him greater than he is and that “we all need healthy competition.” Except that you can’t have healthy competition when there is a power imbalance, when one party is a jealous rage monster and when the weight of the monarchy and media has chosen one side over the other.
It’s too late to be still talking about Harry. At this point, the “competition” is between William and the people of the UK. Who will take their side?
I’m pretty sure that Tessa clip is old from 2024 back when he skipped Constantine’s memorial. The scroll at the bottom says something about the Kent’s and their son in law’s death. Thomas Kingston died at that time
That’s a good catch. That makes this clip doubly interesting – basically, an open admission that the press has known all along of William’s failings.
The monster that is William and Kate. Lovely way to put it and 💯 accurate.
It’s always “Harry left a gaping hole” in the monarchy, but not “Harry and Meghan.” Salt Island is never to going to accept that the Sussexes are a team. You don’t get one without the other — and more pointedly, you’re never going to get one because you made life torture for the other.
And they’ll never ever admit it but Meghan left a hole as well. She was glamorous, stylish and happy to do the work. And they blew it. Kate hiding out in Forest Lodge and appearing once in a while is not even close to filling that hole.
It was obvious Meghan left a huge hole when she left. her first project, with the soup kitchen, of bringing out Together: Our Community Cookbook, was such a resounding success, it scared the pants off the Royals! And it seemed so effortless for her to accomplish that. She would have gone on to do brilliant work for them. But they were too petty & jealous to allow her to continue to shine. Their ego & racist hearts had to bring her down. Imagine how she could have impacted the insular & parochial British culture with her breath of fresh air. Sad really.
I’m confused… what was the original gut punch?
They really want Harry to struggle outside the Royal family but never acknowledge how difficult it was for them in that institution. Also this constant throwback to Harry’s military role as if that’s was his only meaningful contribution to that institution because they certainly didn’t value anything else he did, especially once he got married. They really need to give Harry’s closing speech from Invictus Dusseldorf a good listen. He directly speaks to life after taking off the uniform. This man has a whole busy life now. His family, his wife, his businesses and foundation. Even his problems are all his responsibility and his control. Even without the uniform he still honors those who served in a million different ways. The royal family and the press only want him to boost their pr and poll numbers.
The gaping hole in the monarchy is William’s laziness and refusal to actually play his role. As someone who is gainfully employed I refuse to call what he has to do a job. Willy is a mascot for the government and a symbol thats meant to represent the UK. As this symbolic figure he’s meant to provide continuity and comfort when needed. This requires him to show up somewhere at least 3x a week for 30min – 1hr and he won’t even do that. The heir’s failure to do even the bare minimum is why they won’t stop attacking the spare and his wife. In the twisted system they’ve created Harry and Meghan can’t be better or do more than willy and kitty but its literally impossible not to do more or be better.
This VJ Day event is a perfect example of the lose lose situation the Sussexes are in. If the Wales had attended the ceremony with Chuck and Cam or laid their own wreath or done anything more than a tweet than Willy wouldn’t look so bad in comparison to Harry. But Willy didn’t and so now he has sent out his mouthpieces, bots and trolls to attack Harry’s commemoration and explain how Harry the veteran was wrong or insincere.
The sad part is Harry didn’t do anything big he just had a friend leave a wreath with a letter pinned. While the letter was heartful and sincere it is still such a small gesture and yet Willy who lives is in the country and has office dedicated to managing his role couldn’t surpass that low bar. Willy is lazy and he hires people even more lazy than him and thats why there is a gaping hole in the monarchy. He sucks at playing his role.
I’m aghast and in shock that Bill and Cathy just bailed on the 80th anniversary commemoration. It’s the most basic, important aspect of his role: to show up and honor those who fought for Britain. He really is destroying an already-weakened monarchy. All those millions, all those homes and yet he can’t publicly honor the few remaining veterans who fought during England’s darkest hour. Mind-boggling.
“in an interview over the weekend” ?
That interview is more than a year old, and she said that following William not showing up at some engagement around the time of Thomas Kingston’s death.
I remember it, and it also literally says so in the tweet’s screencap
HuM are both people who love traditions, structures and services and can transfer them into the modern age. They both enjoy working, both for other people and their quality of life, as well as for their own quality of life. With their honourable and dignified behaviour, they are excellent role models for their children. They represent important social content and at the same time convey joy, love and fun in life. This couple lives an exemplary life. They had to escape a life that almost cost Meghan and their first child their lives and severely affected Harry’s mental health. Now they live a life of joy and service to others. So what’s wrong with that?
I’ve mentioned Philip’s service on the Whelp a few times. He was in Tokyo bay for the formal signing of the surrender and the ship picked up pows held in Japan. He spoke poignantly of it over the years. Harry’s personal tribute was spot on. Philip was literally there in Japan ON VJ Day! It would’ve been an easy thing for William to have paid tribute to, with photos, in his sad little post. But nope. He has the EQ of a turnip.
I think the royal rota was usually quiet about Harry’s gesture which shows that even though they may be upset about William and Kate’s absence they’re still eager to protect the Waleses from scrutiny.
As I’ve said many times before, H&M work hard to be the best example of royalty in the modern world they can be.
I know that there is plenty of blame to go around with Kate, and we don’t see behind the scenes with her, but one of the most telling things to me of William’s psychosis is how he looks down his (very long) nose at her and looks disdainfully at her. I have wondered if in his little bitty mind he thinks she makes him look bad. I mean maybe he thinks she is the ONLY reason he looks bad. And he can blame her for his woes and unpopularity. Of course, he probably has buyer’s remorse, although I don’t understand how he didn’t see that coming, but she isn’t the only thing that makes him look bad. His own actions and lack of actions make him look very bad. Looks like the press is having buyer’s remorse too. Wanna have Angela Levin on anytime soon? You spawned and paid that cancerous, bile-filled hate speaker.