CELEBRITY
Reasons Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Not Invited to Trooping the Colour for Second Year in a Row
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn’t join the royal family for the first birthday parade of King Charles’ reign, and they won’t be in London for the festivities this year
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be missing from Trooping the Colour later this month.
PEOPLE confirms the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not been invited to this year’s annual celebration of the British monarch’s birthday in London, scheduled for June 15. They were also not invited to the event last year, which marked the first time Trooping the Colour took place during the reign of King Charles, Harry’s father.
Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, have been living in California since stepping back as working members of the royal family in 2020.
The couple attended Trooping the Colour together in 2018 (one month after their royal wedding at Windsor Castle) and in 2019 (only weeks after welcoming their first child, son Prince Archie). The event was significantly scaled down in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, held for Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle without a large gathering of family members.
In 2022, Meghan and Prince Harry traveled to the U.K. and attended a special Trooping the Colour coinciding with Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking her 70 years on the throne.
However, they did not join the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony as in previous years. Harry and Meghan watched the festivities, including the military procession down The Mall and the Royal Air Force’s aerial display over London, from a room above Horse Guards Parade along with other non-working royals.