Queen Bans Meghan And Harry From Buckingham Palace Balcony

Queen Elizabeth dropped a bomb on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on Friday when she banned them from standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her and the rest of the royal family during the parade for her Platinum Jubilee next month. 

Daily Mail reported that just minutes later, Meghan and Harry released a statement saying that they plan to travel to the United Kingdom with their two children Archie and Lilibet anyway to attend other festivities for the Platinum Jubilee, which will celebrate the Queen’s record breaking seventy years on the British throne. 

Queen Bans Meghan And Harry From Balcony

The palace announced today that those who will be standing with the Queen on the balcony for the parade will only be royals who are carrying out official public duties, such as Harry’s father and brother, Prince Charles and Prince William. However, various exceptions will be made, as William’s three children and some of Harry’s fellow grandchildren will also be allowed. 

Meghan, Harry, and the disgraced Prince Andrew, however, will not be joining the queen on the balcony. 

“The Queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday June 2 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,” a palace spokesman said. 

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Meghan And Harry Fire Back

Just minutes after this statement was released, Meghan and Harry released a statement of their own through their own spokesman. 

“Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited and honoured to attend The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations with their children,” their spokesman said.

Prior to this, Harry and Meghan hadn’t confirmed that they’d be traveling to the U.K. at all for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. While they will not be invited to join the Queen on the balcony, it is believed that they are invited to other events surrounding the celebration, including thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, June 3. Andrew is also expected to have been invited to this ceremony. 

Royal Biographers Weigh In

Royal biographer Tom Bower responded to all this by saying that the Queen had put an end to the “mystery farce created by the Sussexes” as to whether they would be allowed on the balcony. However, he warned that Meghan and Harry may try to “milk” the Platinum Jubilee. 

“They [Harry and Meghan] have been forced to accept a downgraded role – grouped with all the other VIP’s – but are clearly desperate not to be excluded,” Bower said. “If the Palace is not remarkably careful, the Sussexes will milk the celebrations for their own benefit. Hopefully, the Sussexes will be kept firmly in check to avoid their selfish interests dominating the celebration of the Queen’s awe-inspiring service to Britain.”

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‘Great Decision’

Royal author Angela Levin celebrated the Queen’s move as being a “great decision.”

“It will have such a different positive atmosphere if there are working royals who support Her Majesty,” she said, going on to take issue with Meghan and Harry being invited to other events, saying that “the focus will be on them and how they behave, which the Jubilee shouldn’t be about.”

Since stepping down as senior royals back in 2020, Meghan and Harry have bashed the royal family seemingly every chance they’ve gotten, portraying the royals as being racist and insensitive to mental health struggles, among other things. Here’s hoping they take the high road for once and allow the Queen to have her moment, without making the monarch’s historic Platinum Jubilee all about themselves.