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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be at Queen Elizabeth II's Trooping the Colour birthday parade despite being banned from the palace balcony at the Platinum Jubilee.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in Britain on Wednesday, June 1, with children Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, ready to celebrate 70 years of the queen's reign.
The couple will watch Elizabeth's birthday parade from the former office of the Duke of Wellington in Horse Guards Parade while senior royals gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Harry and Meghan were banned from joining his grandmother, Prince Charles, Prince William and other senior royals for the iconic moment because they are no longer working royals.
However, unlike Prince Andrew, they will be out on show as the country they left behind gathers to celebrate the monarchy.
Thousands will fill the streets around the palace while the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards and more than 1,200 officers and soldiers from the Household Division will parade alongside army musicians and around 240 horses, the palace has said.
Trooping is an annual royal event held in honor of Elizabeth's official birthday but this year's will be invested with greater significance as it kick starts Britain's first ever Platinum Jubilee.
No U.K. monarch has reached 70 years on the throne before and Elizabeth's long reign was only made possible after her father George VI tragically died young, aged 56, on February 6, 1952.
Doubt has been hanging over Elizabeth's own visibility during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations after she has been struggling with episodic mobility problems since twin health scares in October and November 2021.
The 96-year-old will not take part in the Trooping the Colour ceremony but will take a special salute from the palace balcony while Prince Charles represents her on the ground outside.
Working royals will then gather for a second balcony appearance to watch a fly past, including Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as well as Prince William and Kate Middleton, the queen's other children, minus Prince Andrew, and her cousins.
A palace statement read: "On Horse Guards Parade, The Prince of Wales will take the Salute and inspect the Troops of the Household Division on Her Majesty's behalf, joined by The Duke of Cambridge and The Princess Royal.
"The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duchess of Cambridge, The Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence are expected travel to Horse Guards Parade in carriages, where they will join other Members of the Royal Family to watch the Parade from the Major General's Office.
"Upon the return of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and the Guards, The Queen will take a Salute from the Balcony of Buckingham Palace, accompanied by The Duke of Kent, Colonel, Scots Guards.
"The Queen, accompanied by Members of The Royal Family, will return to the Balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past of aircraft by the Royal Air Force."
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About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more