Platinum Jubilee: Prince Harry, Meghan will not be on balcony with Queen Elizabeth II

LONDON — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony to kick off Thursday’s Platinum Jubilee, but they will not be part of the royal group gathering on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

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The couple will watch the Horse Guards Parade from the Major General’s Office, People reported. The office overlooks the parade grounds of the palace, and they will join other grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II who are not taking part in the balcony appearance.

The queen, who turned 96 on April 21, will appear on the balcony with 17 other members of the Royal Family after the Trooping the Colour ceremony, the BBC reported.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex “look forward” to watching the parade, a spokesperson for the couple told People.

“There’s been a lot of chat about who is going to be there and who is not,” Pauline Maclaran, of the Centre for the Study of Modern Monarchy at the University of London, told the BBC.

Only “working royals” and their children will appear on the balcony, the news outlet reported. That also excludes the queen’s son Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

“Balcony displays are used very strategically by the Royal Family,” Maclaran told the BBC. “They’re very well aware this makes a statement, it’s so important.”

“This is one element they can control, so there are no ambiguous signals. If they allowed Prince Andrew, you can imagine the response.”

The jubilee will last four days.

The balcony at Buckingham Palace has been the stage for national moments since Queen Victoria first stepped outside the palace in 1851, the BBC reported.

Only two prime ministers have made it onto the balcony, according to the BBC -- Neville Chamberlain, after negotiating the Munich Agreement with Germany in 1938, and Winston Churchill as crowds celebrated the end of World War II in 1945.

Family members who will appear on the balcony on Thursday include Prince Charles; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William; Kate Middleton; Princess Anne; Prince Edward; and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, according to People. The queen’s cousins, the Duke of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra will also be in attendance.

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Photos: Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee kicks off with Trooping the Color Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she watches from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Color ceremony in London, Thursday, June 2, 2022, on the first of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)

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