Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘banned’ from Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
In a bombshell statement, Queen Elizabeth has denied Harry and Meghan formal involvement in her Jubilee celebrations, despite the couple insisting they are coming anyway.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Marle will return to England for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee despite being banned from appearing with the Royal family at a landmark event.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with Prince Andrew, have been outlawed from joining the rest of the royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
Harry, Meghan, and Andrew had been expected to join Her Majesty for the traditional Trooping the Colour Royal Air Force fly-past – but “after careful consideration” they will now be excluded, reported The Sun.
A Palace spokesman said: “After careful consideration, the Queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen.”
It came as Prince Harry and Meghan revealed they will be in the UK for the Queen’s Jubilee.
While the Sussexes have been invited to other events as part of the Jubilee, only the 18 “working members” of the Royal family will make the traditional balcony appearance on June 2 – that spans Prince Charles, Prince William and their families, and including Camilla and Kate Middleton.
A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their attendance at the Jubilee minutes after Buckingham Palace announced the Megxit duo were not allowed to join the rest of the family for the key event.
In a statement, Harry and Meghan’s rep said: “Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited and honoured to attend The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations with their children”.
This confirms that the couple’s children Archie and Lilibet will be travelling to the UK to see the Queen.
The ban of the Sussex family, as well as Prince Andrew, is largely a symbolic move, as the Queen made an exception to the “working member” rule for the husband of Princess Anne, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurance, who is not a working Royal family member.
“The Queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday, June 2 will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen,” the palace said in a statement.
“In addition, the Cambridge and Wessex children are also expected to appear as is Sir Tim Laurence, who the Queen is happy to attend as a frequent attendee and support for the Princess Royal on official engagements.”
In 2020, Harry and Meghan left the royal family as part of the dramatic “Megxit” scandal, where they relinquished their roles as working members of the royal family. The couple moved to California, where they intended to work to support themselves financially, inking a mega content deal with streaming giant, Netflix – a deal which has been slammed due to a lack of output.
Prince Andrew, meanwhile, stepped down in 2019 amid allegations of sexual abuse, which he denied.
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