Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly set for their first public reunion with the Royal Family since stepping down from their roles as senior royals last year.
The Queen, who received her coronavirus vaccine recently, has reportedly invited Harry, 36, and wife Meghan, 39, to her official birthday parade, the Trooping the Colour, on 12 June this year, which falls two days after Prince Phillip’s 100th birthday.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s reported invitation means it will be the first time they publicly meet with the royal family since their final royal engagement in March last year.
According to The Sunday Times, royal aides said the event is both an official affair and “family occasion”, so the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to join the Queen at the military parade.
A senior royal aide said: “The current plan is for the Queen’s birthday parade to go ahead in London as normal, with the acceptance that it may need to be adapted or scaled back depending on what guidelines are in force at the time.
“But the aspiration and the ultimate desire is to make it happen.”
A final decision over the scale of the parade is reportedly set to be made in the spring. But, The Queen and senior members of the Royal Family are understood to want to give full honours to the army, which is being deployed to assist with the national roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines, at the event.
The Queen, who has not been in residence at Buckingham Palace since the lockdown in March, is said to be determined to get “back to business” and hopes to celebrate the Trooping the Colour in London.
Last year’s parade was a scaled-down affair and took place in Windsor for the first time during her 68-year reign.
The Trooping the Colour event is usually attended by the royal family, military soldiers and hundreds of spectators in central London.
But, 2020’s event saw Her Majesty as the only member of the royal family to attend the one-off occasion at Windsor Castle alone, with strict social distancing measures in place.
As Harry and Meghan are expected to attend, it’s unsure if Prince Andrew, Duke of York will also be in attendance.
Prince Andrew, 60, stepped back from royal duties in November 2019 after his disastrous BBC interview over his friendship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
He hasn’t appeared alongside the Royal Family at any public events since, but has said he intends to resume a “public role” in the future.