Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined the rest of the Royal Family for their first joint engagement in two years today, although they were separated from Prince William, Kate, Prince Charles, and Camilla and left individually.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving, but were stage-managed by royal advisers to sit on the opposite side of the aisle from William and Kate.
Buckingham Palace officials worked hard to avoid a repeat of the icy scenes that occurred when the Sussexes and Cambridges sat next to one other and left together at their last joint function in March 2020 at Westminster Abbey.
And aides would have been relieved that today’s ceremony in front of 2,000 distinguished guests went off without incident or unpleasant ‘optics,’ considering the efforts to keep the day focused on the Queen and her 70-year reign.
Inside the cathedral, Kate and William chatted with Prince Charles and Camilla, but there was no sign of the same chemistry with Harry and Meghan, who sat between Lady Sarah Chatto and Princess Eugenie’s husband Jack Brooksbank and were under strict instructions to keep a low profile throughout the event.
While Harry has accused his father Charles of financially cutting him off, Meghan claims an unknown royal made a comment about Archie’s skin tone before he was born — with the Sussexes having a war of words with the Palace following last year’s explosive Oprah Winfrey appearance.
It was the first time Harry and Meghan, who now live in California, had been in full public display with the Windsors since leaving the monarchy two years ago to start a new life in the United States. Crowds applauded as the couple entered, with the couple smiling and waving, but yells and applause could be heard as they left.
Today, at the 11.30 a.m. ceremony in London, Charles officially represented the missing 96-year-old king. The Queen did not attend the historic ceremony due to a last-minute decision revealed by Buckingham Palace at 7.30pm yesterday following ‘discomfort’ during Trooping The Colour festivities earlier in the day.
Prince Andrew also did not appear at St Paul’s after testing positive for coronavirus earlier this week. The Queen watched the service from her Windsor Castle residence, and it was televised on BBC One.
After the service, Harry and Megan walked down the aisle of St Paul’s hand in hand, joined by other members of the royal family and trailed Charles and Camilla and William and Kate – but did not appear with them outside.
The Sussexes turned to speak with Lady Sarah Chatto and her husband Daniel Chatto, who were seated close to Meghan. Senior clerics waited to greet the congregation as Meghan joked with the Archbishop of York and patted Harry’s arm as he entered the conversation. The Sussexes then moved on, leaving the foursome to laugh.
Members of the audience outside St Paul’s sung the National Anthem as they waited for the Royal Family to leave at the end of the ceremony, before Charles and Camilla became the first to leave as the bells began to toll.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge followed, with Kate waving to the crowds and conversing with her husband. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were seen leaving holding hands and conversing with Zara Tindall and her husband Mike. Before getting into a car, Harry and Meghan exchanged handshakes with the Lord Mayor.
The Sussexes are not anticipated to attend a reception at the nearby Guildhall, which will be attended by other members of the Royal Family and key politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel.