Royal family VE Day 80th anniversary: Prince Harry headache doesn’t overshadow huge celebrations as they unite on Buckingham Palace balcony | Opinion

OPINION — As the royal family stood united on the balcony of Buckingham Palace commemorating 80 years since the end of World War Two in Europe, you’d hardly believe that just days before, the King had been drawn in – yet again – to the dramas he thought were now long behind him.

For those who need a reminder: Prince Harry, who left his position as a senior working royal five years ago, had told the world in a surprise television interview on Friday that it “would be nice to reconcile” with his family, while also admitting he doesn’t “know how much longer my father has”, in reference to the monarch’s cancer battle.

In staying true with the British mantra of ‘keep calm and carry on’, King Charles led his family with dignity as they stood defiant on the palace balcony, showing no signs of unrest within the ranks.

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The Harry headache, as one would surely imagine the King and Prince of Wales might refer to the situation behind closed doors, was not going to overshadow such a solemn and important occasion as VE Day.

It was the most significant gathering of senior royals since the monarch’s official birthday celebrations nearly one year ago and once again signalled to the world just who actually matters in the House of Windsor… and who we should be talking about.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the future of the monarchy, and their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

READ MORE: Why Harry’s recent BBC interview has ‘backfired spectacularly’

Also there were the Princess Royal and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent, cousin of the late Elizabeth II.

These individuals, the King was telling the world, are those working in service to the Crown.

The royals had watched the military procession of 1300 personnel arrive at Buckingham Palace before making their way to the balcony to view the flypast of wartime Royal Air Force aircraft and the Red Arrows.

READ MORE: ‘Poor taste’: Harry remark about Charles has palace insiders fuming

The spectacular display was followed by the national anthem, with jubilant crowds shouting, “God save the King”.

The King looked emotional as the national anthem played in the palace forecourt under the balcony, no doubt the challenges of the past 12 months in the back of his mind.

Charles, 76, is continuing to receive weekly cancer treatment more than a year after his diagnosis in February last year.

His daughter-in-law, 43, announced in January that she was in remission after undergoing preventative chemotherapy following her own diagnosis last March.

Had Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, chosen to remain in the UK and carry on as working royals as they had briefly done following their wedding in 2018, they would have stood alongside the King and Queen and other royals on Monday.

But, alas, it was not to be. It was, however, a reminder of what could have been.

Prince Harry, once a beloved member of the family and popular with so many of the monarch’s subjects, could have carried out such important and meaningful work with Meghan by his side.

All families have their fare share of dramas but none are so publicly played out than what has gone on with King Charles and his family since 2020, when the Sussexes said farewell.

They didn’t go quietly: instead, Prince Harry and Meghan have aired their grievances so many times it’s hard to keep track.

Harry’s interview with the BBC on Friday was the latest verbal attack on his family.

While not naming his brother, it was clear Harry had Prince William in mind when admitting “some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things”.

Louis steals the show as royals mark VE Day anniversary

Harry says he wants reconciliation but seeing the King standing alongside his heir, Prince William, doing their duty, it’s hard to imagine there’ll be any change in family relations.

The decision by the Duke of Sussex to speak to the BBC so close to VE Day – when he knew the royals would be out in force not only on Monday but throughout this week – was unwise and clearly a desperate attempt to have his point heard.

Though Harry had no control of when the court would reveal its decision about his security, he did choose to speak about his father, in public, hours after that decision came through.

He could have taken the higher moral road and stayed silent.

There has been no statement from the King or Prince of Wales since Harry’s comments.

Instead, they chose to respond the best way they know how: by coming together on the Buckingham Palace balcony and focusing on the men and women who had made the ultimate sacrifice during WWII.

It was as though Prince Harry and Meghan didn’t matter at all.

Later, inside the palace, the future of the royal family was clear for all to see as Prince George joined his parents for the morning tea with veterans, surprising many with his inclusion in such an important event.

While not Prince George’s first official engagement, it was one of just a handful he’s done in his young life (he will turn 12 in July).

Prince William told veterans it was “very important” for Prince George and the “next generation” to hear the stories from those who fought in the war.

Prince Louis, in true Prince Louis style, stole the show with his cheeky antics: appearing to tease his older brother during the military parade and later shared a tender moment with his dad by playing with parts of William’s RAF No.1 uniform.

King Charles and Queen Camilla, and the Wales family, have done their best to ensure the attention falls where it should – on the veterans and also on the monarchy.

Their carefully curated outfits were also a sartorial show of solidarity: the King wore his Naval Uniform No 1 dress, with no medals or decorations, which was the same uniform worn by his grandfather King George VI on the Buckingham Palace balcony on VE Day, 1945.

Queen Camilla paid tribute to her family’s military service with a 12th Royal Lancers brooch, her late father Bruce Shand’s regiment, pinned to her coat.

The Prince of Wales was dressed in the RAF No.1 uniform.

Catherine chose a RAF wings pin in tribute to her grandfather, who served in the RAF as a fighter pilot during the Second World War.

Princess Anne wore the uniform of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, the uniform worn by her late mother when she appeared on the balcony 80 years ago, as Princess Elizabeth.

The royal family has shown, time and time again, the important role they play in national and worldwide events.

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Theirs is an image of continuity and stability and no matter how loud the grumblings all the way from California get, nothing will stop the King and his family from doing their duty.

And of course, keeping calm and carrying on.

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