As expected, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not attend the 2024 Trooping the Colour parade on Saturday, June 15.
On Saturday, King Charles III was joined by wife Queen Camilla and his son Prince William for both the parade and military flypast. The trio were joined by William’s wife, Princess Kate Middleton, and their three kids as they watched the festivities from the Buckingham Palace balcony. It was Kate’s first public outing since confirming she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.
Earlier this month, People reported that Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, were not invited to Trooping the Colour for the second consecutive year. The timing coincides with Harry’s father, King Charles III’s reign as they have not attended since he became king in September 2022.
Meghan made her debut at the annual event in 2018, less than one month after she and Harry tied the knot. The couple returned the following year as well.
Harry and Meghan exited their roles as senior members of the royal family and moved to her native California in 2020. Trooping the Colour was significantly scaled back in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, so the pair — in addition to several other key royals — were not in attendance.
In 2022, Harry and Meghan travelled back to the U.K. for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. While they were present for the Trooping the Colour celebration that June, they did not stand on the Buckingham Palace balcony with other royals as they had done in previous years. This marked their last Trooping the Colour appearance.
Although Harry and Meghan — who share son Archie, 5, and daughter Lilibet, 3 — have been at odds with his family since leaving their royal roles, they have publicly shown support for Charles and Princess Kate Middleton amid their respective cancer battles. After Charles confirmed his diagnosis in February, Harry made a trip to visit his father.
“I love my family,” Harry said on Good Morning America in February. “The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that. … I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could.”
Following Kate’s announcement of her own diagnosis in March, Harry and Meghan released a statement, which read, “We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”
Amid the family’s health scares, a source exclusively told Us Weekly in May that Harry and Meghan “want to be super respectful and don’t want to add stress to the situation” regarding Kate’s recovery, adding that “if Will and Kate want their space, Meghan and Harry will give it to them.”
