Prince Harry was "saddened and disappointed" not to have had a wreath laid on his behalf at the Cenotaph last Remembrance Sunday, a book has claimed.
Despite Harry having served for 10 years in the military, including two tours of Afghanistan, his request for his tribute to be laid at the London memorial last year was refused.
It came after he and wife Meghan stepped down as working members of the royal family earlier that year and left the UK for California. Covid-19 travel restrictions had made it difficult for him to return to Britain.
Along with giving up royal duties, Harry was stripped of his military posts, including his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines.
It was reported at the time Harry's wreath had been made but after his request was refused, it laid unused in a box at the Royal British Legion's Kent HQ.
And in an updated version of Harry and Meghan's unauthorised biography, Finding Freedom, it is claimed his request was denied because he was no longer a "frontline royal".
According to the Independent, a source close to Harry told the authors he was "saddened and disappointed by the decision".
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They added: "Ten years of service and a lifetime commitment to the military community and this is how it’s been acknowledged by his family."
Instead, Harry and Meghan chose to pay their own tribute and were snapped laying a wreath at the Los Angeles National Cemetery and placing flowers on the graves of two Commonwealth soldiers.
The wreath was inscribed: "In Memory of the Men Who Offered Their Lives in Defense of Their Country".
On it, Harry had written: "To all those who have served, and are serving. Thank you."
Finding Freedom, originally published last year and written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, chronicles Harry and Meghan's romance and brief period as members of the monarchy before they broke away to forge a new life for themselves and son Archie in the US.
It is being re-released next week in paperback version and will include a new epilogue that covers events such as the couple's bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview and the death of Prince Philip.
The controversy over the wreath has also been previously covered in Robert Lacey's book Battle of Brothers.
Lacey argues most people would consider Harry's request to have a wreath laid on his behalf perfectly reasonable and a mark of respect but the Queen is said to have rejected the request as soon as it reached her attention.
"It took her 'all of two seconds' to issue a refusal," Lacey writes, referring to an article by royal editor Rebecca English.
The article stated the Cenotaph ceremony was "sacrosanct" to The Queen, who ensured nothing happened without her knowledge.
While Harry's grandmother hugely admired her grandson's military achievements, his request to lay a wreath, or have one laid on his behalf, showed "a lack of understanding of what it means for him to be a non-working royal", the book says.
Lacey claims Harry's seemingly small request showed he "had still not grasped the consequences of his momentous choice to sign off from royal duties."
