Harry and Meghan Were Only Invited to Trooping the Colour in 2022 Because of ‘Exceptional’ Circumstances, Commentator Says
Another major royal milestone is fast approaching for King Charles III, his first Trooping the Colour. Unlike his coronation, Prince Harry isn’t expected to make an appearance. Nor is Meghan Markle. A commentator says the Duke and Duchess of Sussex probably won’t be invited to major royal events in the future. As for their 2022 Trooping the Colour invite, the circumstances were “exceptional.”
A commentator didn’t predict a 2023 Trooping the Colour invite for Harry and Meghan
For any royal watchers who were hoping for a glimpse of Harry and Meghan with the royal family at 2023’s Trooping the Colour celebration, prepare to be disappointed. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Newsweek the ongoing tension within the family suggests they won’t be there.
“There is a very deep rift in the royal family and I would not have expected the Sussexes to receive an invitation,” Fitzwilliams said.
As for 2022’s Trooping the Colour, where Harry and Meghan watched from a nearby building, the circumstances were unusual. Hence their invitation.
“They did indeed receive one for the Trooping during the celebrations of the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, but that occasion was obviously exceptional,” he said.
Indeed the couple traveled to England in June 2022 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. They stayed at their former U.K. residence, Frogmore Cottage, with their children; Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.
However, they didn’t attend the parade in an official capacity. Harry and Meghan largely kept under the radar, only making one formal appearance at a church service.
Trooping the Colour is 1 of many events Harry and Meghan are expected to miss
The sovereign’s annual birthday parade is anticipated to be Sussex-free. Meaning Harry and Meghan won’t attend alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and other royals.
According to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, there are certain things, such as Harry’s witness testimony in a tabloid lawsuit and continued criticism of the royal family, that could prevent him and Meghan from being on the guest list for major events.
“The Sussexes know the palace is not able to do a point-by-point reply to accusations made against it without giving further publicity to them,” Fitzwilliams said. “It is, therefore, no surprise that Trooping the Colour will take place without them.
Fitzwilliams went to note it’s not expected to change soon. “This is also likely to be the case in future years, unless a reconciliation occurs, which at the moment seems most unlikely,” he said.
“It has been increasingly clear that they have, in the view of the palace, gone rogue,” the commentator continued. “The publication of Spare and the interviews around it, the Netflix docuseries, and the various court cases Harry is involved in, all are evidence of the Sussexes’ high international profile. But this has also highlighted their estrangement from the royal family.”
Harry and Meghan went to the 2018 and 2019 Trooping the Colour as working royals
Prior to their low-key appearance at the queen’s last Trooping the Colour in 2022, Harry and Meghan attended the annual celebration twice.
The pair made their Trooping the Colour debut as husband and wife in June 2018. It marked Meghan’s first big event after officially joining the royal family. At the time, her outfit resulted in criticism, with some saying the now-41-year-old’s pink off-the-shoulder ensemble broke royal protocol.
Meanwhile, Harry shared in his Spare memoir an awkward moment transpired involving him, Meghan, and Kate Middleton. Meghan, he recalled, remarked on the festivities being “colourful” in a joke that failed to make her sister-in-law laugh.
A year later, in June 2019, Harry and Meghan once again participated in Trooping the Colour, balcony appearance, procession, and all. It came shortly after Archie’s birth on May 6, 2019.
Less than a year later, in January 2020, the couple announced their decision to step back as senior working royals, ultimately relocating to their current home in Montecito, California.
The 2023 Trooping the Colour is on June 17, 2023, at 5 a.m. EST or 10 a.m. local time in London, England.
