The Royal Family publicly marked the 80th anniversary of VJ Day last week – and it has emerged Prince Harry did too, in a move that could show his eagerness to heal the rift with his family
13:32, 18 Aug 2025Updated 14:58, 18 Aug 2025
Prince Harry (Image: Getty Images for Invictus Games)
Prince Harry has placed a secret letter paying tribute to Second World War veterans at a national memorial – hours after a visit from King Charles and Queen Camilla, it has emerged.
The King and Queen led the nation in commemorating the 80th anniversary of VJ Day during a moving ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Friday. The event came on the day Charles vowed that the sacrifice of heroes who fought and died in the campaigns in the Pacific and Far East during the Second World War “shall never be forgotten”.
And now it has been revealed that Harry, who served for 10 years in the Army, also paid a touching tribute to the veterans by having a personal letter and wreath placed at the Burma Star Memorial at the same location.
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Prince Harry with his late grandfather Prince Philip (Image: Getty Images)
In a major sign that Harry is keen on making amends with his royal relatives, it is reported that he insisted the tribute was laid by a friend – with strict instructions only to place it at the memorial once his father and stepmother had left the event, so not to overshadow them.
In the letter, which was attached to a poppy wreath, includes his royal emblemn and is signed Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, he pays tribute to all that fought in the war, including his late grandfather, Prince Philip, who served in the Far East. The letter, first revealed by GB News, was not signed by Harry’s wife, Meghan.
The late Philip, who died aged 99 in 2021, was in Tokyo Bay on board the destroyer HMS Whelp, a warship he served on as second-in-command, when Japanese officials formally signed the surrender on the USS Missouri.
Prince Harry’s letter on a wreath of poppies (Image: PA)
The letter reads: “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.”
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He also added: “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. 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.”
The tribute was left at the Burma Star Memorial (Image: PA)
In 2020, the year of Megxit, former soldier Harry was left saddened when he was refused his wish to have a poppy wreath placed at the Cenotaph, the focus of the UK’s Remembrance Sunday service, on his behalf.
Just months later, the duke, who undertook two tours to Afghanistan, was stripped of his military patronages by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II after his decision to step down as a senior working royal was made permanent.
The move comes just weeks after it emerged that top aides for Harry and Charles met in London last month, tipped as a crucial “first step” in what insiders believed could be a “rapprochement process” between the estranged Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family.
The meeting took place between Harry’s right-hand woman, Meredith Maines, flying in from California, to meet the King’s communications chief, Tobyn Andreae, on neutral ground at the Royal Over-Seas League.
Charles and Camilla at the ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum (Image: AP)
The get together came just two months after Harry’s eye-opening BBC interview, where he claimed Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” referring to the controversial removal of his police protection in the UK.
Meanwhile, at Friday’s ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum, Camilla appeared visibly emotional as a war veteran went “off script” to pay tribute to the King’s cancer battle
Charles and Camilla joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer and 33 veterans aged from 96 to 105 who served in the Far East and Pacific at a national service of remembrance.
VJ Day on August 15 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the six-year war, but much of the celebration in 1945 focused on VE (Victory in Europe) Day in May, with those who served in the Far East labelled The Forgotten Army.
Yavar Abbas, who was a captain in the 11th Sikh Regiment, took to the stage at the National Memorial Arboretum to read extracts from his diaries during his time in Burma in 1945, but took a moment to pay tribute to his “brave king” first.
The King and Queen were emotional during the service (Image: Getty Images)
Camilla looked at her husband sitting next to her and appeared to wipe away a tear as Mr Abbas, 105, originally from Lucknow in India, said: “I make no apologies for briefly going off the script to salute my brave king, who is here with his beloved queen in spite of the fact that he is under treatment for cancer.”
Applause rang out among the crowd of around 1,500 guests as Mr Abbas said he had also battled cancer, adding that he hoped it would bring “comfort” that he had been rid of the disease himself for 25 years.
He added: “I salute him for gracing this occasion, because by his presence here, he has gone a long way to make sure that his grandad’s 14th Army is never given the sobriquet again of The Forgotten Army.”
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