UPDATE: CNN’s royal correspondent Max Foster has said that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex – and their children Lilibet and Archie – will attend the Queen’s jubilee. “Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited and honoured to attend The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this June with their children,” he quoted their spokesperson. It is unclear what occasion the quartet plan to attend although a number of celebratory events are taking place throughout June to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle and his disgraced uncle Prince Andrew will be absent from the famous Buckingham Palace balcony for the Queen’s jubilee.
After months of speculation as to whether the trio would be present to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years on the throne, a Buckingham Palace source told the BBC that only “working royals” and their children would be invited to appear on the balcony. A working royal is one who carries out royal duties on behalf of the Queen and currently includes her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, her grandson Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, her daughter Princess Anne and her youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
They are all expected to make an appearance on the famous balcony overlooking The Mall (which is the road leading up to Buckingham Palace) in June as part of the Trooping the Colour military parade to celebrate both the Queen’s birthday and, this year, her platinum jubilee.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, took a “step back” from royal duties in 2020 when they relocated first to Canada and then to California, where they have since struck up commercial deals with companies including Spotify and Netflix.
Prince Andrew, meanwhile, who is also known by his title the Duke of York, has effectively been banished from public life after his long-held relationships with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were re-examined over the last few years following the duo’s arrest. Epstein died by suicide before being tried (although he was previously convicted of procuring for prostitution a girl below age 18) while Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021.
Earlier this year Andrew reached an out of court settlement with one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Guiffre, who sued the royal for sexual assault.
The ignominy of the accusations against Andrew, as well as his association with two such unsavory characters, has since seen Andrew stripped of all his royal patronages as well as other ceremonial titles and position. There has even been increasing pressure on the Queen, his mother, to revoke his dukedom. Andrew retains his prince title by virtue of his birth.
Despite rarely being seen in public, Andrew put himself front and center at the memorial for his father, Prince Philip, in March when he accompanied the Queen to Westminster Abbey and escorted her to her seat. The move drew disapprobation from royal watchers and, allegedly, even Andrew’s own brother Prince Charles.
Prince Harry and Meghan did not attend the memorial, citing security concerns.
The Queen ascended to the throne in February 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI. However her record reign will be marked in June (when the weather is expected to be better) and will include a number of celebratory events including a pop concert at the palace.