Prince Harry was in devastated situation after the royal family's one major move that shattered the Duke's dream.
The Duke of Sussex cried in silence after losing his military titles, a source has claimed.
"Harry was genuinely hurt that he was not allowed to retain his formal links to the military," a friend of the Duke of Sussex told the Mail.
The Duke - who served two tours of Afghanistan - previously held several honorary military titles, including commodore-in-chief of small ships and diving, honorary air commandant of RAF Honington, and captain general of the Royal Marines.
The titles were awarded to him by the late Queen Elizabeth II but were taken once he officially stepped down as a senior working member of the royal family.
It comes as the father-of-two has faced a major setback in the US. A petition to stop Harry from receiving an award has reached 50,000 signatures.
The petition says "awarding this honour to someone who does not reflect the award’s intent diminishes its value and disrespects Tillman’s memory."
Harry is set to be given the memorial award set up in the name of Pat Tillman in Hollywood this month.
Tilman's mother Mary has lambasted the decision to give the award named after her dead son to Prince Harry, saying: "I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award."
Previously, royal author and biographer Robert Jobson, who penned "Our King: The Man and the Monarch Revealed," claimed Harry "hates" that his estranged father took such drastic measures after the son quit royal life in 2020.
"He hates the idea that he is not captain general of the Royal Marines … and he hates the fact that he’s lost all these positions," Jobson previously told True Royalty TV’s “The Royal Beat."
In May, Buckingham Palace announced that William will be made colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps, despite Harry having personally served with the unit in Afghanistan. The announcement appeared timed to inflict maximum pain on Harry, coming on the same day that he returned to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.
"King Charles’ announcement … is a real kick in the teeth for the son who always felt marginalized and underrated," royal expert Tom Quinn told the Mirror. "He is said to have been in tears when he heard."
"What makes it much worse is that the role is being given to the very man who Harry sees as the cause of so many of his problems, his brother."
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