Prince Harry wants to keep his military titles and 'spend more time in UK'

Prince Harry is not entirely ready to let go of his honorary military titles, which he had to give up when he quit as a senior member of the British royal family.

According to a report in The Telegraph, the Duke of Sussex is "determined" to negotiate with the British monarchy to keep the military roles, and wants to spend more time in the United Kingdom where he hasn't been since his exit as a senior royal in March last year.

A friend of the royal told the outlet: "His military work is one of the most important things to him. Of course he wants to keep them." The pal also said that the only reason the prince has not returned to his homeland for almost a year is because of the coronavirus pandemic, and will be spending more time there when it is safe to do so.

Apart from the Captain-General of the Royal Marines, Harry used to hold the titles of Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, and Royal Naval Command. These titles have not yet been handed over to other members of the royal family and will be up for discussion when the Duke and the royal family review one year of his exit in March.

Harry served in the British Army for a decade until his resignation in June 2015. He also served in Iraq and Afghanistan during his service and was the first member of the British royal family to serve in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew.

A year prior to his exit from the military, he founded Invictus Games and remains the patron of its foundation. The Invictus Games is an international adaptive multi-sport event in which wounded, injured or sick armed service personnel and their associated veterans take part in nine sporting competitions including wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and indoor rowing.

In December 2017, the 36-year-old succeeded his grandfather Prince Philip as the Captain-General of the Royal Marines. In May 2018, he was promoted to the substantive ranks of Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy, Major of the British Army, and Squadron Leader of the Royal Air Force.

In January last year, following a discussion over his and his wife Meghan Markle's plans to transition into financially independent royals, Buckingham Palace announced that an agreement had been reached for Harry "to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments."