Prince William & Kate Awarded New Titles Amid Prince Harry's HRH Title Scrubbed From Royal Website

It has been only three months since King Charles' coronation, and he is appointing new military titles to several working royal family members.

This comes amid the removal of his son Prince Harry's "His Royal Highness" – HRH references on the royal family's website, which is yet to be updated entirely since the passing of Queen Elizabeth.

Among the new title-holders are Charles' first-born son and heir apparent, Prince William, alongside his wife, Kate Middleton, whose appointment holds a sentimental meaning to her.

Buckingham Palace and King Charles broadcasted the new military positions for nine royal family members on Friday, August 4. 

Per PEOPLE, the list included the Prince and Princess of Wales, the King, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, Princess Anne, Prince Richard, and, the Duchess of Gloucester, Birgitte.

It should be noted that the group already holds varied military partnerships, and news of their latest appointments comes a month before King Charles' first Accession Day. The palace's announcement read, "Following His Majesty's Accession, The King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working Members of the Royal Family." 

It continued, "The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in His Majesty's reign."  The update lists Prince William as the Colonel-in-Chief, The Mercian Regiment; Colonel-in-Chief, The Army Air Corps; and Royal Honorary Air Commodore Royal Air Force (RAF) Valley, where he was once a pilot.  

He flew as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot based at RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales, from 2010 to 2013. Similarly, Princess Kate was given the roles of Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Coningsby. 

The last title holds a special meaning to the monarch as one of her grandfathers, Peter Middleton, served in the Royal Air Force. Per reports, Peter also worked with Prince Philip by flying as a co-pilot during an aerial tour of South America in 1962.

The royal couple holds other RAF-related appointments, with William serving as the Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Coningsby, while Kate is the Honorary Air Commodore of the Air Cadets. 

They also once exposed their kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, to an RAF showcase by taking them on a family field trip to the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, the world's largest military air exhibit.

While fans take in the latest development, they may also have questions about Prince Harry's updated page on the royal family's website which excludes his HRH references. The Duke of Sussex still had his HRH title in his bio on Friday, August 4. However, on Tuesday, August 8, it was noticed that the two references to his title were scrubbed.

The references were linked to the 38-year-old's work to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in 2016, and his title is now replaced with "the Duke" or "the Duke of Sussex." It is worth knowing that Harry was awarded his dukedom from the late Queen Elizabeth upon his marriage to Meghan Markle in May 2018.

Meanwhile, in 2020, when he revoked his royal duties and discussed with the royal family, Buckingham Palace announced that he and his wife would not use their HRH titles "as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family."

Since Prince Harry and Meghan resigned from their senior royal duties in 2020 to move to California, there has been bad blood between them and the royal family.

However, an insider divulged earlier this month that the 42-year-old actress had moved on with her family after witnessing how much the feud affected her husband. The parents also focused on raising Archie and Lilibet in Montecito.

"The situation with [King Charles III] and [Prince William] is still very difficult for [Harry]," the source stated. "Meghan is always supportive of it, though."

They added that although Meghan used to be pessimistic about the subject, she now seems to have let it go and has a "much softer approach about Harry's family."