Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Photo:Karwai Tang/WireImage
Karwai Tang/WireImage
King Charles' firstTrooping the Colouras monarch was missing two members of the family: his sonPrince Harryand his daughter-in-lawMeghan Markle.
While members of the British royal family gathered in London for King Charles' public birthday celebrations and armed forces parade, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not join them.
Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, relocated to her home state of California in 2020 afterstepping back as senior members of the royal family.
Although the couple attended Trooping the Colour togetherin 2018(just a month after theirroyal weddingat Windsor Castle) and2019(weeks after welcoming their first child, sonPrince Archie), the event was scaled down in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Meghan and Harryreturned to the United Kingdomin June 2022 — for the first time with their two children, Prince Archie andPrincess Lilibet— for Trooping the Colour, which kicked off a four-day celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, marking her historic 70-year reign. Theydid not appear on the Buckingham Palace balconyfor the flypast, which was limited to only working members of the family and their children last year. Instead, theywatched the event from the Major General’s Office, which overlooks the Horse Guards Parade, with extended members of the family.
This year, King Charles seemed to follow his mother’s approach from the previous year andlimit the balcony appearanceto only working members of the family as well as his three U.K.-based grandchildren,Prince George,Princess CharlotteandPrince Louis. Even Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s two children — Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex — did not join their parents this year despite appearing at both last year’s Trooping the Colour and May’s coronation balcony appearances.
The June 2022 visit marked Princess Lili’s first time visiting her dad’s home country, as she was born in California the previous year. During the U.K. visit, Prince Harry and Meghan marked their daughter’sfirst birthday with a backyard partyat Frogmore Cottage.
Prince Harry has made several solo visits to the U.K. in recent months. In March, he made asurprise appearanceat court in London to hear a legal case in which he and other prominent figures — includingElton John,Elizabeth HurleyandJude Law’s ex-wife Sadie Frost — are suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), publisher of theDaily MailandMail on Sunday, for illegal information gathering. It marked his first time in the U.K. since the funeral of his grandmotherQueen Elizabethin September, which Meghan also attended.
The Duke of Sussex traveled to London again in May toattend his father King Charles' coronation. However, it was aquick trip— shortly after the crowning ceremony, Harry headed to the airport to catch a flight back to California. The coronation on May 6 took place on his son’s fourth birthday.
Harry was back again in early June when he appeared at the High Court of the Royal Courts of Justice in London totestify against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN)over alleged unlawful information gathering. He underwent a day and a half of cross-examination over the claim, which helaunched in 2019.
Prince Harry in June 2023.ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
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Despite ongoing tensions,Prince Harry told PEOPLEearlier this year that he wants his two children to have meaningful relationships with members of his family.
“I’ve said before that I’ve wanted a family, not an institution—so of course, I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family, and they do with some, which brings me great joy,” he said in anexclusive PEOPLE cover storysurrounding the release of his memoir,Spare.
source: people.com
