Prince Harry Leaving the Army (June 2015): What will he do now?

[Rudolph]

I don't think we know everything with Harry. William's gap year came when both the Dukes of Edinburgh and Kent were ill and no one knew what the future would look like.

William needed to be available should the unthinkable happen. So his leaving the RAF made sense at least to me.

Harry could have stayed in the Army and still do most of what he outlined in his statement. The fact he is leaving something he loves either means he is in crisis or things are happening behind the scenes with the Firm we are not yet privy to.

I don't think the desk job excuse is valid. Harry knew all along he'd be required to put time in behind a desk. Its not like this came as a surprise to him.

[GrammaSueSue]

Originally Posted by Rudolph

I don't think we know everything with Harry. William's gap year came when both the Dukes of Edinburgh and Kent were ill and no one knew what the future would look like.

William needed to be available should the unthinkable happen. So his leaving the RAF made sense at least to me.

Harry could have stayed in the Army and still do most of what he outlined in his statement. The fact he is leaving something he loves either means he is in crisis or things are happening behind the scenes with the Firm we are not yet privy to.

I don't think the desk job excuse is valid. Harry knew all along he'd be required to put time in behind a desk. Its not like this came as a surprise to him.

I quite agree with this assessment. Almost daily, I get the impression that things are going on behind the scenes. The Transition Team must consider a variety of scenarios going forward (much like any large corporation). It would be mind-boggling.

[Dman]

I agree, William's gap year was pretty pointless, but at least he started to step up on the official side. I think the same will now be expected of Harry. It seems like Harry will now have to start embracing official duties and focus more on his charities. Harry will no longer have his army job to excuse him from his official duties, which has been lacking for a long time.

[Rudolph]

Well Harry's statement was clear, he will not be taking up full-time royal duties

[US Royal Watcher]

Originally Posted by Rudolph

I don't think we know everything with Harry. William's gap year came when both the Dukes of Edinburgh and Kent were ill and no one knew what the future would look like.

William needed to be available should the unthinkable happen. So his leaving the RAF made sense at least to me.

Harry could have stayed in the Army and still do most of what he outlined in his statement. The fact he is leaving something he loves either means he is in crisis or things are happening behind the scenes with the Firm we are not yet privy to.

I don't think the desk job excuse is valid. Harry knew all along he'd be required to put time in behind a desk. Its not like this came as a surprise to him.

This is just my opinion, of course. I agree there is a lot going on behind the scenes, but I don't agree that Harry would have to leave the military because there is something "firm related" going on. I think the plan is for a slimmed down monarchy and no one within the firm expects that the royal family will continue to maintain the same number of public appearances under the reign of King Charles. Although Harry knew that he would be eventually assigned to a desk, there is a difference between knowing it is coming and actually experiencing it.

I also don't agree that William left the military because of the health of the Dukes of Edinburg and Kent. It seems to me that his decision was timed to coincide with George's birth. I also assume that he was due to be rotated off of search and rescue operations, which also played a part in his decision.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by US Royal Watcher

I also don't agree that William left the military because of the health of the Dukes of Edinburg and Kent. It seems to me that his decision was timed to coincide with George's birth. I also assume that he was due to be rotated off of search and rescue operations, which also played a part in his decision.

I don't believe William's decision to leave the SAR was based on George's birth. If anything, it would have been quite nice to bring George up in the wonderful seclusion of Wales.

It is possible he was being rotated off operations, or the plan to privatise the SAR which may have been key factors.

[Rudolph]

Richard Palmer of the Express described Harry's posting at Whitehall this past year as a 'theoretical desk job'. Harry was hardly ever there and we still don't know what he actually helped to organise in relation to the Army in London (the original reason given for this posting).

The fact he will not be taking up full-time royal duties means there must be something more to come.

The latest YouGov poll showed 64 percent of people think Harry should have a regular job in addition to royal duties, much like what William is doing now.

[GrammaSueSue]

Harry has been in a desk job for a year or so...actually experiencing it. Apparently, he did not enjoy it. Also there were probably other issues which contributed to his decision.


William left the military for a variety of reasons, some of which have been mentioned.


There is a transition going on folks...much to which we are not privy. It must be an enormous task to consider the variety of scenarios which could take place and the logistics involved in consolidating and reshuffling of the various responsibilities and persons involved (whomever they may be).

[Dman]

Originally Posted by Rudolph

Well Harry's statement was clear, he will not be taking up full-time royal duties

He don't have to become a full-time member of the royal family in order to step up his official duties. He should be doing more though. His full-time military job took up a great deal of his time and away from royal duties. His leaving from the job should allow him to carry out more duties.

[Rudolph]

I do agree the Army was Harry's cover and without it he will open himself up to criticism if he doesn't buckle down and work.

Travelling around Africa with an expensive security detail in tow won't go over well.

[cepe]

What is also possible is that Harry was not going to get promoted. Highly competitive environment and promotion based on merit. Redundancies expected. Pride is a strong motivator and perhaps he wanted to be making the decision.

I hope he does find his niche, and in this country. But circumstances change - it's not that long ago on this forum people were saying both William and Harry should leave their jobs and go full-time. The aging profile of the "full timing" royals means that the BRF need flexibility.

Maybe that's the thinking behind the change.

[Dman]

Originally Posted by Rudolph

I do agree the Army was Harry's cover and without it he will open himself up to criticism if he doesn't buckle down and work.

Travelling around Africa with an expensive security detail in tow won't go over well.

I wasn't born in Harry's position and don't have his experiences, but I know I wouldn't mind carving out a role for myself within the "firm" and helping out my elderly grandparents. Full-time or part-time royal duties are most likely less boring, if you're carving out your role in the way that satisfy you.

[Osipi]

Whatever Harry does whether it be a full time public service job, working full time in Africa with Sentebale, devoting his time to wounded warriors, stepping up his royal duties or not, one thing we can be assured of and that is no matter what he does, it will be with the blessing of the Queen.

[AdmirerUS]

It's my opinion, but I don't think Harry will go full time royal doing run of the mill openings, dedications and curtain pulls. The issue that poses, is that someone has to do them. Right now, Andrew and the Cambridges are cherry picking all their events. I just don't see the need for another F/T royal doing only what they want.

So, and again it's my opinion, I hope he finds some non-royal full time gig. Away from the press would be great - because you know that no matter what he does, they will carp that he is leveraging his royalty.

The potential for this to go very badly is quite high. Again, JMO.

[Skippyboo]

All the royals have their areas of interests and causes that they support through their engagements and the patronages they take on.

To me, it would be silly if Harry became patron of Royal Ballet if he had no interest in it.


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[Dman]

Folks, the whole idea is for Harry to continue to find the areas that he's interested in and support those organizations. He's already have a great group of charities he currently supports as royal patron and president.

I think he'll find his niche outside of the military, but the official side of his job isn't really that impressive at the moment. I think he enjoy touring the Commonwealth and other countries and I'd like to see him doing that more.

[lucymae88]

I think any roles, duties or patronages Harry takes in the future will still be military related. It's his passion and you can tell he loves it, when he talks about it his face lights up. I think the reason he left the military was he couldn't be a normal soldier without the palace interfering. I think we can also start seen him take on more of his grandparents roles and see him traveling more for the Queen.

[Rudolph]

When Prince Harry leaves the Army in June, he is heading to Africa to work on a conservation project while he considers his “future employment opportunities”.

Considering the Prince’s long-term connections to the continent, and his father’s and brother’s deepening involvement in wildlife protection, we can guess that at least some of his time will be with endangered animals.

South Africa loses one rhino to poachers every eight hours. Africa’s elephants fall to the same fate at a rate of close to 100 a day, or four an hour. Lions face extinction, hunted for their bones. Even giraffes are dying out. Wildlife rangers confronting the poachers are outgunned, out-funded and outwitted. Several die each year. Publicising their plight by joining them on patrol would be a good use of Prince Harry’s time.

More: Africa’s wildlife needs your help, Prince Harry - Telegraph

[royal-blue]

I think we will see Harry's life stay pretty much as it is now until he marries. A combination of charitable and royal work.

[Lee27]

Harry may want to live away from Great Britain for a while. Many of the freelancing media can not afford to move to Africa just to follow Harry around. As long as he stays out of trouble, he might find life quieter.


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