On August 15, 2025, the quiet, leafy grounds of Britain’s National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire bore witness to a gesture both deeply personal and quietly political. As the nation marked the 80th anniversary of VJ Day—the day Japan surrendered and World War II finally ended—Prince Harry, thousands of miles away in California, orchestrated a tribute that would stir emotion, controversy, and, for some, a sense of loss within the royal family.
Prince Harry asked a close friend to discreetly lay a handwritten letter and a wreath of red poppies at the Burma Star Memorial. The timing was deliberate; the tribute was placed only after King Charles and Queen Camilla had left the national commemorations, a move meant to avoid distracting from the official service that honored the sacrifice of those who fought and died in the Pacific and Far East. According to GB News and NationalWorld, this act was intended to honor both his late grandfather, Prince Philip, and the so-called “Forgotten Army” of the Far East campaign.
Harry’s letter, signed with his royal cypher and simply “Harry,” was addressed to the veterans who endured unimaginable hardship. “On this 80th anniversary of VJ Day, we pause to remember the day the guns finally fell silent across the world, the true end of the Second World War,” he wrote. “We also pause to recognise you, the men and women of the ‘Forgotten Army,’ whose courage and endurance in the Far East campaign were anything but forgettable. You faced an enemy determined to the last, fought in unforgiving terrain, and endured months, even years, far from home, in conditions most could scarcely imagine. Your service in the jungles and mountains of Burma and beyond was marked by grit, unity, and sacrifice.”
The message continued, weaving in Harry’s personal connection to the occasion. “For me, this anniversary carries an added layer of meaning. My late grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, served in the Pacific campaign. He spoke with quiet humility about those years, but I know how deeply he respected all who stood beside him in that theatre of war. Today, as I think of him, I think also of each of you, of the shared hardships, the bonds forged, and the legacy you leave.”
Prince Philip, who died in 2021 at the age of 99, was second-in-command of the destroyer HMS Whelp. He was present in Tokyo Bay when Japanese officials signed the surrender aboard the USS Missouri in 1945. While King Charles, in his audio address marking the anniversary, paid tribute to his mentor and great uncle Earl Mountbatten, he notably omitted any mention of his father’s role in the Pacific campaign—an omission that did not go unnoticed by observers and royal commentators, according to NationalWorld.
The reaction to Harry’s tribute has been anything but simple. Within royal circles and among the British press, some insiders and critics have characterized the gesture as calculated, even “sniveling,” suggesting it was designed to tug at the Royal Family’s heartstrings rather than quietly pay respects. As reported by Radar Online, one palace insider remarked, “It looks like he was trying to tug at the heartstrings and remind the family of his military credentials. It feels calculated—and people are calling it sniveling.” Another source noted that the tribute was not cleared with royal officials, fueling speculation that it was intended to appeal to King Charles at a sensitive moment. “By ensuring it was seen and reported, he has opened himself up to accusations of being manipulative,” the source told Radar Online.
Yet, for others, the absence of Harry at the commemorations—and the nature of his tribute—was a painful reminder of what the royal family has lost. Royal expert and historian Dr. Tessa Dunlop 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.”
Dr. Dunlop described Harry’s tribute as a “painful reminder” of his absence from royal commemorative roles since stepping away from official duties in 2020. She noted that Harry, who undertook two tours in Afghanistan, was once a fixture at such events, his presence offering comfort to families of the fallen. “No one in the Royal Family was a better fit for this most important commemorative role,” she said, adding that the Duke’s “quiet reminder” at the memorial underscored the “gaping hole” left by his departure.
Harry’s forced abandonment of his honorary military titles, following his and Meghan Markle’s exit from royal duties, has been a source of deep personal pain. In 2020, he was denied the right to have a poppy wreath placed at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday—an honor he had carried out since 2009. The pain was compounded in 2024, when his brother Prince William was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, the regiment Harry once served in as an Apache helicopter pilot during his time in Afghanistan. As Dr. Dunlop observed, “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.”
Efforts by Harry to rebuild trust with the royal family have, so far, fallen flat. In July, he reportedly offered to share his diary with senior royals—a gesture dismissed by royal commentator Hilary Fordwich as “desperate” and “self-serving,” according to The Blast. King Charles, wary that private family matters might find their way into the public domain, has remained cautious, and insiders say trust remains fractured.
Adding another layer of drama, celebrity psychic George Valentino predicted, as reported by The Blast, that no reconciliation between Harry and his family would occur for another eight to ten years. “There will be no reconciliation, and Harry is always going to be an outcast,” Valentino bluntly stated, suggesting that even kind gestures by Harry toward the next generation, such as Prince George, would not be reciprocated.
As if the situation needed more complexity, an upcoming book by royal author Andrew Lownie, titled Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, claims that Harry once physically fought his uncle, Prince Andrew, in 2013, leaving Andrew bloodied after a heated argument. The book alleges this was sparked by unflattering remarks Andrew made about Harry, further muddying the waters of royal family dynamics.
For all the speculation, criticism, and lingering wounds, Harry’s VJ Day tribute stands as both a gesture of remembrance and a symbol of estrangement. The letter’s words—reflecting on sacrifice, endurance, and the bonds forged in war—echo not just for the veterans it honored, but for a family still searching for peace within its own ranks.
In the end, the poppy wreath and letter at the Burma Star Memorial may have been quietly placed, but the ripples they caused were anything but silent.
