Queen extends major olive branch as Harry and Meghan Markle invited to palace balcony
Prince Harry gives Queen update on Team UK
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Meghan and Prince Harry have been invited to make an appearance on the iconic balcony at Buckingham Palace alongside the rest of the Royal Family during the long bank holiday weekend in June which will see the Firm and the country coming together to celebrate Her Majesty’s historic 70th year on the throne, the Telegraph wrote. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will also reportedly be allowed to join royals at other events open to the wider family, including the service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s reign to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral.
However, given they are no longer full-time working members of the Royal Family, Meghan and Harry would not be allowed to play a formal role in any of the events planned, including taking part in the Trooping the Colour parade.
The newspaper reported aides claiming the Sussexes’ presence at the celebrations for her reign would mean a lot to the Queen.
This reunion would come after reports of a rift between Meghan and Harry and some members of the Firm have been circulating for several months, and were said to have been exacerbated by the damaging allegations made by the couple during a series of public interviews and appearances since they relocated to California.
As stressed by Meghan and Harry during their groundbreaking interview with Oprah Winfrey in the spring of 2021, their relationship with the Queen has remained untouched by their issues with the institution and the couple has remained on good terms and in touch with the 95-year-old even after their decision to step down as senior royals.
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Prince Harry is currently seeking a judicial review of the Home Office’s decision not to let him pay for police protection while his family is on British soil, an ongoing legal wrangle that could be key in determining whether or not the Duke and Duchess, as well as their two children, will travel across the pond in two-month time.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes told the newspaper they were not in a position to discuss future travel plans at the moment.
The decision to extend an invitation to the Sussexes ahead of the Platinum Jubilee special weekend shows the Queen’s “magnanimous” side, according to royal commentator Richard Eden.
He wrote on Twitter: “According to the Telegraph, the Queen has invited Prince Harry and Meghan to join the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony at her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
“Her magnanimity knows no bounds”.
The Platinum Jubilee bank holiday is set to be particularly special for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as on June 4, in the midst of it, their daughter Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana will turn one.
Their royal relatives have yet to meet the baby in person, who was given as name the monicker received by the Queen as a child by her grandfather King George V and widely used by her late husband Prince Philip.
The claim Meghan and Prince Harry have been invited to join the Firm on the balcony comes after the pair met the Queen in person last week.
Meghan and Harry were travelling from their home in California to The Hague to attend the ongoing Invictus Games.
But they stopped at Windsor Castle, where they also encountered Prince Charles, to hold a meeting with Her Majesty.
Senior royal sources described the meeting as “very cordial” and “incredibly warm and good-natured”.
On Monday, the Duke of Sussex opened up about the reunion with his grandmother behind closed doors.
Speaking with the BBC, he said: “She had plenty of messages for Team UK which I’ve already passed on to most of them so it was great to see her.
“I’m sure she’d love to be here if she could.”
This marked Meghan’s first in-person meeting with the Queen since she officially stepped down as a full-time working royal in March 2020.
The Duchess had not returned to Britain since, and has yet to make an official appearance on British soil.
On the other hand, Harry travelled back to England twice in 2021.
He did so first in April last year, to attend the funeral of Prince Philip at St George’s Chapel.
A few weeks later, in July, he returned once again to unveil the statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace he had commissioned in 2017 alongside Prince William.
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