Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘not invited’ to King Charles’ Trooping the Colour birthday celebration

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not expected to join the royal family at King Charles’ first Trooping the Colour birthday celebration, according to a report, which claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not invited to the event.

On Saturday 17 June, the annual public celebration of the British monarch’s birthday will take place, with the occasion marking the first Trooping the Colour parade during Charles’ reign.

The celebration, which dates back more than 200 years, will feature hundreds of soldiers, horses and musicians, and will see Charles ride on horseback in the parade as part of a tradition that has not been seen since 1986.

Similarly to years past, the event will be attended by most members of the royal family, with Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, expected to join Charles on horseback, while Queen Camilla, Kate, the Princess of Wales, and the Prince and Princess of Wales’ three children, are expected to join the procession by carriage.

The royal family will then gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a flypast by members of the armed forces.

However, the King’s youngest son and his wife will not be present, according to People, which reports that Prince Harry and Meghan did not receive an invitation to join the royal family at the celebration.

Instead, the couple is expected to spend Saturday at their home in Montecito, California, with their children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two.

The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace and a representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. According to People, both the Palace and the Sussexes’ office had no comment.

Harry and Meghan attended their first Trooping the Colour together in 2018, shortly after they were married. The couple also attended the event in 2019, and most recently, in 2022, when they reunited with the royal family during their first trip back to England after stepping down as senior royals in 2020.

The report that the Sussexes will not attend this year’s celebration comes after the couple was invited to attend the coronation of Charles and Camilla on 6 May. However, Prince Harry attended the ceremony for his father alone, as the historic occasion fell on the same day as Prince Archie’s birthday.

Harry also returned to the UK last week to give evidence in his High Court phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), but returned home without seeing his father or his brother, Prince William.

The King’s official birthday celebration on Saturday will also coincide with the return of Meghan’s legal drama Suits to Netflix. On 17 June, all nine seasons of the show, which star the duchess as attorney Rachel Zane, will be available to stream in the US.