Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were excluded from the guest list for King Charles’ birthday. The Mirror writes, according to which the monarch will celebrate Trooping the Color on June 15 without the presence of his second son and wife. Charles will attend the event with Queen Camilla and the couple will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage. Buckingham Palace has yet to confirm which royals will appear on the balcony for the RAF ‘flypast’, the passing of military aircraft in formation during the event. It is also unclear whether Princess of Wales Kate Middleton will attend after her cancer diagnosis.
A source told People Magazine that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not invited to the monarch’s birthday celebration, for the second time in a row. Last year’s Trooping the Color, in fact, was the first to take place during Charles’ reign. Harry and Meghan attended the event in both 2018 and 2019. The ceremony was then scaled down in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and was held, with Queen Elizabeth but without a large gathering of family members, at Windsor Castle. In 2022, Meghan and Harry traveled to the United Kingdom for Trooping the Color, but they did not join the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as they had in previous years. They watched the celebrations from a room above Horse Guards Parade.
Buckingham Palace said at the time: “After careful consideration, the Queen has decided that the traditional balcony appearance at this year’s Trooping the Color on Thursday 2 June will be limited to Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family who are currently carrying out official public duties on behalf of the Queen”. Trooping the Color traditionally sees more than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians gather to celebrate the ruler’s official birthday. This year’s event will take place on Saturday 15 June from 10am to 12pm. The flypast will fly over Buckingham Palace at 1pm. The ceremony will be slightly different to previous years, with the King traveling in a carriage rather than on horseback due to the his illness.
