This weekend, the British royal family will hold its first big event since the coronation, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle apparently weren’t invited. To celebrate King Charles III’s birthday, the monarchy has its annual “Trooping the Colour” event, including a parade in London. Reporters from PEOPLE were told by people close to the family that the king’s younger son and his wife were not invited.
Trooping the Color is a British custom that dates back to at least the 1600s. When Queen Elizabeth II was in charge, it was called the “Queen’s Birthday Parade.” Soldiers from the British Army usually march through the streets, and the king gives honors to some soldiers. This will be the first parade of this kind since the queen died and King Charles became king. It will also be the first big royal event since the king was crowned last month. Prince Harry went to the wedding alone and didn’t show up much, but he won’t be at Saturday’s event.
People asked Buckingham Palace to say something about the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle weren’t invited, but they didn’t. They also didn’t say anything about the subject. The two now live full-time in California, and trips to the UK are not easy with their two young children. Prince Harry went to the coronation by himself and went to the U.K. last week to go to court in his case against Mirror Group Newspapers.
It’s not clear who is avoiding whom in this case. Based on what we’ve heard from Prince Harry over the last few months, he may not want to go to his dad’s birthday party. After his book, “Spare,” came out, someone close to him told PEOPLE that the prince wanted to go to the coronation with his family, but he wanted to have a “sit-down” meeting with his father and older brother first. Before making a big public show, he hoped they could talk about some of the problems brought up in the book and other public places in private. People who were there say that meeting never happened.
Trooping the Colour was held in London on June 17 to celebrate the king’s birthday, even though he was born on November 14, 1948. This year, the king will turn 75.