King Charles III is set to celebrate his inaugural Trooping The Colour ceremony as the reigning monarch on June 17, but it appears that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle, may not be part of the grandeur.
Renowned Royal writer Richard Eden raised the speculation in the Daily Mail, sharing that the Sussexes might not be invited to the King's Birthday Parade. He noted, "it will be the first time in Harry's life that he has not been welcome at the monarch's official birthday celebrations."
Royal analyst Richard Fitzwilliams further fuelled these speculations when he spoke to Newsweek, expressing his anticipation of the Sussexes' absence from this year's celebration due to "a very deep rift in the royal family." Fitzwilliams went on to highlight the couple's detachment from the royal family, evidenced by Prince Harry's memoir "Spare," the couple's Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan," and Prince Harry's ongoing court cases.
Despite the Duke of Sussex revealing his wish to mend the strained relations with his father and brother Prince William in promotional interviews for his memoir and on CBS's "60 Minutes," Fitzwilliams views a reconciliation as highly unlikely at present.
Looking back, the Sussexes attended the Trooping the Colour for the first time as working royals in 2018 and again in 2019. They were a part of the royal lineup on the Buckingham Palace balcony during these years. However, the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 celebration was considerably scaled down. By this time, Harry and Meghan had stepped down from their royal duties and moved to California with their son, Archie.
In 2022, even though they were no longer working royals, they received an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II and attended the event. They were spotted interacting with the children of Mike and Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips' daughter, which generated significant media buzz.
No official announcement has been made yet by Buckingham Palace regarding the Sussexes' participation in this year's Trooping the Colour. The last event attended by Prince Harry in London was King Charles III's coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
For the upcoming Trooping the Colour, King Charles III will uphold a tradition unseen for three decades since Queen Elizabeth II last did it in 1986 - he will participate in the event on horseback. The palace announced, "His Majesty The King will take the Salute as Colonel in Chief of the seven regiments of the Household Division, at the Birthday Parade on Horse Guards Parade, on Saturday 17th June 2023. Marking the first time that the reigning Monarch has ridden at Trooping the Colour since 1986, when Queen Elizabeth II last rode, The King will join His Majesty's Birthday Parade on horseback."
