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Queen Elizabeth will begin her Platinum Jubilee celebrations on Thursday morning with the Trooping the Colour parade to mark her 96th birthday, an annual event which has been postponed the last two years due to the coronavirus.
Elizabeth became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee earlier this year following 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, Realms and the Commonwealth.
After a grand military display including horses, carriages, a flypast from the Royal Air Force and hundreds of musicians parading down The Mall to Horse Guard’s Palace, the queen is expected to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony to greet the public.
Historically, the British monarch has taken the salute to her troops, known as the Household Division on Horse Guards Parade.
Queen Elizabeth II is photographed at Sandringham House to mark the start of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee Year, on February 2, 2022 in Sandringham, Norfolk. Only working senior members will appear on the balcony at Trooping the Colour parade.
(Chris Jackson)
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Her son, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, as well as daughter, Princess Anne, and grandson, Prince William, will instead take the salute during the proceedings.
Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex; Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and retired vice Admiral Timothy Laurence will also be on hand.
William and wife Kate Middleton, the duchess of Cambridge, will also be on the balcony with their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. William, 39, is second in line to the throne after his father Charles, 73.
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The palace confirmed that only working senior members will appear on the balcony, which means Prince Andrew, as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the duke and duchess of Sussex, won’t be present.
“After careful consideration, the queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Color balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the queen,” the palace said last month.
Harry and Meghan stepped away from frontline royal duties and moved to California in 2020, nearly two years after they married at Windsor Castle amid a host of familial allegations, including battles within both her own family and the royals.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will not be on the balcony during the Trooping of Colours Jubilee event on Thursday
William and Kate Middleton, the duchess of Cambridge, will also be on the balcony with their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. William, 39, is second in line to the throne after his father Charles, 73. The couple is pictured in 2018.
(Mark Cuthbert/UK Press)
Shortly before her wedding, her father Thomas suffered a heart attack after it was revealed he had staged and sold photos of himself to alleviate familial pressures, and admitted he had since apologized to his daughter for the act of poor judgment.
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During an Oprah Winfrey on “CBS This Morning” in March 2021, Meghan admitted her dad was hunted down by the British press and showered with gifts in exchange for comment and stories about their family.
When Winfrey asked Meghan if she felt betrayed by her father for speaking to the tabloids, especially right before her wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan responded: “If we’re going to use the word betrayal, it’s because when I asked him, when the comms team told us this the story was coming out, we called my dad and I asked him and he said, ‘No, absolutely not.'”
Meghan said she tried to reason with him, “I just need you to tell me, if you tell me the truth we can help. And he wasn’t able to do that… that for me has really resonated as a mother.”
“I look at Archie and I can’t imagine doing anything to hurt my child. I can’t reconcile that,” Meghan added of her three-year-old son. She has since given birth to daughter Lilibet who turns one on June 4.
“Everyone has accountability. Look [the tabloids] hunted my mom down. You’ve never heard her say a word. She’s remained in silent dignity for four years watching me go through this,” Meghan described.
Prince Andrew will also be absent from the balcony and reportedly join his mother for a separate special occasion.
Andrew stepped down from senior royal responsibilities in 2019, and was stripped of his military titles and patronages in January following the revelation of his scandalous ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew, Duke of York watch a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour, the Queen’s annual birthday parade, on June 8, 2019 in London, England. He will not be present on the royal balcony at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
(Max Mumby)
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Virginia Giuffre accused the British royal of sexually abusing her when she was 17-years-old and traveling with Epstein in 2001.
Giuffre, 38, reached a settlement with Andrew after a judge rejected the prince’s bid to win early dismissal of the lawsuit earlier this year. Despite the settlement, Prince Andrew never admitted to sexually assaulting Giuffre and has denied the allegations.
While he is still in line of succession to the throne, he is ninth in place behind Harry and Meghan’s children, he may not use “His Royal Highness” in any capacity.
The 62-year-old Duke of York is expected to attend Garter Day alongside the queen and other senior members of the British royal family. He will also be listed in the next day’s Court Circular, The U.K. Times reported.
The ceremony, which is recognized as one of the “highlights” of the royal family’s summer schedule, will take place at Windsor Castle on June 13 for the first time in three years. The prince will attend in a private capacity as a Royal Knight.
Buckingham Palace shared that the queen’s attendance at events throughout the Platinum Jubilee weekend will likely only be confirmed on “the day itself,” and Prince William and wife Kate Middleton were tapped to lead the Jubilee celebrations as the most senior members of the royal family.
