Although Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were invited to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, scheduled for early June, the couple “can have no formal role”, The Telegraph has reported.
Apart from the traditional balcony appearance, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may also take part in a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in London as part of the festivities.
According the Telegraph, given the fact that the two are already non-members of the royal family, they could not take part in Trooping the Colour or play “any central role” in a whole array of events that are due to take place throughout the four-day celebrations from 2 June to 5 June.
The report comes after Prince Harry told the BBC that he was pleased to see his grandmother again during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s secret meeting with Her Majesty in Britain last week.
Harry visited the Queen at Windsor Castle during a stop-off on his way to the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for injured or sick servicemen to aid in their recovery. The games, which were founded by the 37-year-old royal in 2014, are being held in the Netherlands this year.
The 37-year-old royal said that Her Majesty “had plenty of messages for Team UK”, which he has “already passed on to most of them so it was great to see her”. The Duke of Sussex expressed confidence that the British monarch would “love to be here [at the Invictus Games] if she could”.
The two reportedly promised the Queen she would meet her great-grandchildren Archie and Lilibet “in the near future” during the meeting which purportedly was “very cordial” and “incredibly warm and good-natured”.
The Sussexes left the UK in March 2020 to relocate to the United States, where they decided to start a "simple life" in a posh mansion with their son Archie, who was joined by his sister Lilibet "Lili" Diana in June 2021. The move outraged Britons, with critics accusing the couple of greed and of abandoning the family.
March 2021 saw the two's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they revealed details about their relationship with the Royal Family, accusing them of racism, among other things. Meghan in particular opened up about having suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy after bullying from the media and amid the pressure of dealing with life as a royal.
Harry, in turn, claimed that his father, Prince Charles, had at one point stopped taking his calls, and alleged that he had been "trapped" in the system "like the rest" of his family. The couple also claimed that there was a discussion about the colour of their firstborn's skin within the Royal Family.
Buckingham Palace responded by expressing concern over "the issues raised, particularly that of race", which "are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately". The Palace assured that Harry, Meghan, and Archie "will always be much-loved family members".