Last month, on their way to the Invictus Games in the UK, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry visited the Queen in London.
It was Meghan’s first trip to the UK since she and Harry stepped down as senior members of the royal family back in 2020.
Critics of the couple — especially those within the British tabloid media — were hoping that the visit would go horribly awry.
They were disappointed, however, as the the Queen and the Sussexes appeared take advantage of the opportunity to bury the hatchet.
Meg-haters were aghast at the news that Elizabeth had invited Meghan and Harry to her Platinum Jubilee celebration in honor of the 70th anniversary of accession.
There was a good deal of doubt as to whether or not the couple would be invited, and many journalists and royal experts were of the opinion that doing so would send the wrong message, due to the public perception that Harry has turned his back on his royal relatives.
So we guess those nay-sayers are doing a bit of celebrating today in the wake of news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be invited to stand next to the Queen on her balcony during the event.
“After careful consideration, the Queen has decided that this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd of June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen,” said a Buckingham Palace spokesman in a statement issued today.
Had Harry and Meghan been invited to the balcony, it would have marked the first time that they appeared in public with the rest of the royal family since 2019.
Her appearance on the balcony at Buckingham is thus far the only Jubilee weekend event that the Queen has committed to.
“Her Majesty is looking forward to the weekend and will be taking part in the celebrations but her presence will not be confirmed until much nearer to the time or even on the day itself,” the Palace’s statement continued.
The “working royals only” rule also means that the Queen’s disgraced son Prince Andrew will not be appearing on the balcony.
In February, after years of legal wrangling, Andrew paid off his sexual assault victim using money borrowed from the Queen.
So yeah, he probably wouldn’t receive a very warm reception from the peasants below.
Despite this snub, Harry and Meghan have confirmed that they will be making the trip to London to attend the Jubilee festivities.
Not only that, they’ll be bringing their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
“From a Sussex spokesperson: ‘Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited and honoured to attend The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this June with their children,'” journalist and Sussex insider Omid Scobie tweeted on Thursday.
The Queen has never met Lilibet, and there were fears that she would never get the chance.
So while Harry and Meghan might be feeling mildly embarrassed about not being invited onto the balcony, it seems they’ve decided to swallow their pride for the good of the family.
And if that sort of behavior doesn’t earn them some praise from the British press, nothing will.
