Five key reasons the Queen decided NOT to allow Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Andrew on balcony for Platinum Jubilee
THE Queen will only invite working royals to the balcony for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, it was confirmed today. The bombshell call means Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Prince Andrew will all be scrapped from the Royal Family’s Trooping the Colour appearance on Thursday June 2. The Queen’s Birthday Parade will start at 10am, complete […]
THE Queen will only invite working royals to the balcony for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, it was confirmed today.
The bombshell call means Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Prince Andrew will all be scrapped from the Royal Family’s Trooping the Colour appearance on Thursday June 2.
The Queen’s Birthday Parade will start at 10am, complete with a display of military pageantry on Horse Guards Parade.
Once the parade has ended, the Royal Family will take to the Buckingham Palace balcony, where they will wave at crowds and watch the flypast.
But after “careful consideration”, the appearance will be limited to “those Members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of The Queen“.
Here’s why.
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Not working royals
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew are all no longer working royals.
The Queen stripped Andrew of his royal titles and military patronages earlier this year amid growing anger at his sex assault lawsuit.
The duke had already been kept out of the public eye since 2019, after he was accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Roberts Giuffre when she was just 17.
He has consistently denied the accusations, ultimately settling the case out of court.
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Andrew is no longer able to use ‘His Royal Highness’ and can no longer use his royal privileges.
Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry opted to step back from royal life in 2020, telling the Queen they no longer wanted to carry out their duties as senior royals.
Last year the Queen confirmed they would not “continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service”.
Andrew’s sex assault settlement
Andrew sensationally settled his sex abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre earlier this year – meaning his case was never held in court.
The surprise agreement left a multitude of questions unanswered over Virginia’s allegations and sparked fury among sex abuse survivors.
The sum of money agreed between the two parties may never be released, but had been speculated to be up to £12million.
Explosive Chats
Harry, Meghan and Andrew have hurled many a royal grenade over the last two years, with the Queen often faced to clear up the mess.
Andrew’s car crash Panorama interview made telly history in 2019 after the duke bizarrely claimed he could not sweat and used Pizza Express as an alibi for sex abuse claims.
Just over a year later, Harry and Meg’s bombshell Oprah chat sent shockwaves through the Firm, accusing the royals of racism and revealing intimate details of royal life.
As Harry gets set to release his memoir later this year, fears are now whirling further over what more could be put in writing.
Security woes
Prince Harry is currently embroiled in a legal row against the Government over the decision to take away his police bodyguards – claiming it’s unsafe for his family to return to the UK without them.
The Sussexes were stripped of their round-the-clock protection when they stepped back from royal duties two years ago.
A legal representative for Harry has since said his family are “unable to return to his home” because it is too dangerous.
Slimmed-down monarchy
It’s claimed Charles has already voiced plans for a slimmed-down monarchy and a refined balcony guest list reflects just that.
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A slimmed-down version could see just Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte as senior royals, alongside the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Others may be urged to look for other ways to help support themselves and could end up losing their highly-valued titles and patronages.
