Speculation was rife about whether or not Prince Harry and Meghan were on the balcony. Finally, exit the terrible children of the monarchy: for her jubilee, Elizabeth II apparently did not wish to appear publicly with the members of the royal family who have made headlines in recent months. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, as well as Prince Andrew, will therefore not be present on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, during a grand ceremony on June 2 marking the start of the festivities for the 70 years of reign of Elizabeth II, the palace announced on Friday.
“After careful consideration, The Queen has decided that the traditional balcony appearance for Trooping the Color on Thursday 2 June will this year be limited to Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family who are on official public engagements at the name of the queen,” a palace spokesperson said.
Officially, the 96-year-old sovereign had supported the choice of her grandson and his wife to emancipate themselves from the crown, in January 2020, to go and live between Canada and the United States. Even if “we would have preferred that they remain full members of the royal family”, she conceded. The announcement, revolutionary in the history of the royal family, had created unprecedented tensions between Harry and the rest of the family, in particular with his brother, Prince William. “We will see the family less in official ceremonies in London”, then anticipated the historian and journalist Stéphane Bern in our columns.
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As for Prince Andrew, the youngest son of the Queen of England, he was banished from the crown due to accusations of sexual assault against him and in a case of fraud. Virginia Guiffre claims to have been forced into sexual relations with Prince Andrew when she was only 17 years old, in 2001. These meetings would have taken place in residences of a couple, the millionaire Jeffrey Epstein and the socialite Ghislaine Maxwell , accused of leading a network of underage prostitutes. Even if an agreement was reached last February between prince Andrew and Virginia Guiffre, he is now deprived of any official role.
He had, however, made a remarkable – and controversial – appearance in March during a religious ceremony in homage to his late father Prince Philip, on the arm of the queen who was leaning on a cane.
They could participate in other Jubilee events
However, a source within the palace does not rule out that Harry, Meghan and Andrew could take part in other events planned as part of the festivities. A total of 18 members of the royal family, including Crown Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, as well as his son William, his wife Kate and their three children, are expected on the balcony on the occasion of this large military parade, which had been canceled two years in a row in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
Four days of festivities, happily awaited by the British, are planned from June 2 to 5 for the platinum jubilee marking 70 years of reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 96 years, unequaled in the United Kingdom. They will begin with ‘Trooping the Colour’, the parade that officially celebrates the Sovereign’s birthday each year.