King Charles to give Prince William new senior role in special ceremony after failed Prince Harry reunion
King Charles is set to meet with Prince William to hand over an important role to him. Buckingham Palace has confirmed the monarch will hand over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to his eldest son, the Prince of Wales.
The father-and-son duo will take part in a joint engagement on 13 May at the Army Flying Museum for the momentous appointment. News of this special meeting comes just as King Charles will not be able to meet his youngest son Prince Harry during his brief visit to the UK this week.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, arrived in the UK on Tuesday ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, which he will mark at a ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday.
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HELLO! understands the Duke will not meet with his father during his visit to the UK this week "due to His Majesty's full programme". A source said: "The Duke of course is understanding of his father's diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon."
On the topic of the father-and-son not being able to meet, HELLO!'s Royal Editor, Emily Nash, said: "To an outsider it may seem odd that they can't make time for a meeting, but the King is head of state and has his diary planned months in advance - so it wasn't a given that it would happen, with Harry only here for a couple of days.
"It will inevitably lead to speculation over the state of their relationship, which has come under pressure over the past few years."
The last time King Charles and Prince Harry enjoyed a reunion was back in February, just moments after His Majesty announced his cancer diagnosis to the world.
Next week's engagement with William, 42, will see King Charles unveiling a plaque which commemorates the arrival of the first Apache AH Mk.1 to be installed in a UK museum.
After departing The Army Flying Museum, King Charles, 75, will walk across the airfield to the Middle Wallop Control Tower. Here, in front of an Apache, King Charles will be met by the Prince of Wales to officially hand over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps.
Together, King Charles and Prince William will have an opportunity to meet serving aircrew in front of the Apache. After His Majesty has departed, Prince William will embark on his first engagement with the Army Air Corps as Colonel-in-Chief.
The Prince will first receive a briefing on the Army Air Corps' current work from the Colonel Commandant, Lieutenant General Sir Nicholas Borton. He will then view training and operational aircraft used by the Army Air Corps and meet the aircrew and the supporting ground staff.
The Prince will also hear from soldiers across a range of roles within the regiment that are involved in supporting operations. For the final part of his engagement, Prince William will depart the base by embarking on an Apache capability flight to deepen his understanding of the capabilities of the equipment and to learn more about the people that fly and support it.
