Royal Rift Still Going On
It looks like Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will not be able to attend the yearly Trooping the Colour event after all. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been left out of this important royal event for the second year in a row. This move continues to show how tense things are in the British royal family.
On June 15, in London, there will be the Trooping the Colour, a big military parade held to honor the British monarch’s official birthday. The royal family usually makes a showing in public on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. It is a show of pomp and circumstance. But Meghan and Harry won’t be there. This is a stark reminder of how far away they are from royal tasks and family events.
A History of Being Absent
It’s not the first time that the couple has missed the event. In 2019, they were last seen at the Trooping the Colour. That was before they made the big choice to stop being senior royals and move to the United States. Although the 2020 and 2021 events were pushed back because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Sussexes’ friendship with the rest of the royal family did not.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry went to a special Trooping the Color event in 2022 to remember the late Queen Elizabeth II. But they seemed very far away from the rest of the family when they were there, which showed how tense the relationships are and have only gotten worse over time.
A Wonderful Celebration
Even though the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aren’t there, this year’s Trooping the Colour looks like it will be a big event. Over 1,400 officers and soldiers, 200 horses, and more than 400 musicians from ten bands and the Corps of Drums will march and sing together at the event. The British Army says that the Officer in Charge of the Parade will give about 113 words of order.
The parade will start at Buckingham Palace and go around The Mall until it gets to Horse Guards Parade. A royal salute will be fired on Horse Guards Parade to meet the King, and a 41-gun salute will be fired from Green Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. This will make sure that the day is full of history and military precision.
Exclusion on Purpose
Several sources have stated that Meghan and Harry were not invited to this year’s event on purpose. They are not going to show up out of the blue on the steps of Buckingham Palace. This choice is similar to others made at important royal events where the couple has not been present, which shows that their relationship with the royal family is still complicated.
The couple could legally go as members of the public, but that doesn’t seem likely. Since moving to the US, they haven’t been to the UK very often since they first moved there. Harry decided not to meet his father while he was in the UK for the Invictus Games, which shows how bad the family problem is.
The Stress of Being Far Away
The last time Harry and his father, King Charles, were seen together in public was in February after the King’s cancer diagnosis was made public. The short length of this meeting shows how far apart they are now, both physically and emotionally. The King’s health scare didn’t help fix the wounds, and many people are left wondering if peace is even possible.
From being important parts of the royal family to now being somewhat distant and controversial figures, Meghan and Harry have been through a lot of public and private trouble. They chose to focus on their new life in the U.S. over their family ties, which has given them some freedom and independence but also cut them off from society.
