After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s last Trooping appearance in 2019, the royal family at large decided to send a message to the Sussexes as a response to them quitting their royal duties
The royal family sent a “significant message” to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ahead of the annual Trooping the Colour in years past, according to a royal expert, resulting in their noticeable absence on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Harry and Meghan last attended the monarch’s birthday celebrations in 2019, appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside other senior royals just one month after their eldest child Archie was born. In 2020, Harry and Meghan famously quit their royal duties and started a new life in California. After they relocated to Montecito, the 2020 and 2021 Trooping the Colour celebrations were stripped back due to Covid restrictions.
When the grand procession returned for 2022, Harry and Meghan were noticeably missing from the balcony line up. The following year, Prince Harry shared that “for the first time in his life”, he was not invited to attend Trooping the Colour , with only senior working royals appearing at the Palace.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden said in a television appearance in 2023 :“[This is] the first year of his life that Harry hasn’t been invited at all. With Harry and Meghan, we’ve always had a sort of ‘will they, won’t they’ before every big royal occasion. Well, it seems like the palace has tackled this this time by just not inviting them at all. So, you know, it’s significant.”
According to the royal expert, the royal family wished to present a united front, even after Harry and Meghan moved to America, and hoped they would still attend some of the biggest events in the royal calendar.
As Richard Eden clarified: “When Harry and Meghan quit royal duties, I think officials were very keen to stress that they would still be invited to occasions such as Trooping the Colour so the fact they haven’t been invited is very significant.”
With the 2025 Trooping the Colour merely hours away, it is the belief of many royal experts and fans alike that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be attending this year’s celebration.
It has not been confirmed as yet by Buckingham Palace which royals will appear on the balcony for the RAF flypast, but it’s expected that only working royals will be in attendance in keeping with the tradition of the last two years, which would rule Harry and Meghan out.
The annual event of Trooping the Colour has marked the official birthday of the King or Queen for more than 260 years. The ceremony involves hundreds of horses and soldiers carrying out complex battlefield drill manoeuvres to military music. More than 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians come together for the impressive display.
During the parade, the royals will travel from Buckingham Palace down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade in a procession – either on horseback or in carriages. At Horse Guards, they then watch the military display before joining the procession back to Buckingham Palace once it is over.
After the parade, the royals then gather on the Palace balcony for a march-past and the fly-past by the RAF, which includes the Red Arrows, and will conclude the day’s celebrations.
