Harry and Meghan asked to be left out of Jubilee event

A royal insider has revealed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle told the Queen they didn't want to be on the Buckingham Palace balcony at her Platinum Jubilee.

However, the pair did insist on attending Her Majesty's Thanksgiving Service.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will return for the four-day party to celebrate the Queen's 70 years on the throne, with the pair also bringing their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, 11 months.

While the Queen's ruling that only working royals could appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony on June 2, Harry and Meghan's friend and biographer Omid Scobie denied the pair was "cut".

"As is often the case, the reality is much less severe when you hear that Prince Harry had already spoken with his grandmother about the possibility of not attending Trooping the Colour long before last week's announcements," Omid wrote for Yahoo.

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"I’m told by a source that the Duke of Sussex had actually expressed some time ago that he and Meghan were very keen to be a part of the Jubilee engagements, including the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, but less so for the formal balcony moment, which was felt on both sides to be more appropriate for their lives prior to stepping back."

He added, "Drama is, of course, what often makes the story of the royal family so compelling to millions around the world. But, regardless of the insatiable appetite, there are times it needs to just be accepted when major spectacle or scandal isn't there."

Harry and Meghan's secret visit with the Queen

Harry and Meghan visited the UK together in April for the first time since stepping down as senior members of the royal family in 2020, with the pair enjoying a secret visit with the Queen.

"Being with her, it was great," Harry told the Today Show's Hoda Kotb last month. "It was just so nice to see her… She’s on great form."

The Duke revealed he and the Queen enjoyed some laughs during their catch-up, saying, "She’s always got a great sense of humour with me."

"I know you make her laugh. That’s what she always says," Hoda noted, asking, "Did you do it (make her laugh) again?"

"Yeah, I did," he said with a laugh. "It was really nice to catch up with her."

"I’m just making sure that she’s, you know, protected and got the right people around her," he said. "You know, home — home for me, now, is you know, for the time being, is in the States."

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