Harry and Meghan are ready for a very public family reunion at Trooping the Color

Harry and Meghan will join the senior royals for the first time in over two years at today’s Trooping the Color.

In what should be an exciting – and very public – family reunion, they’re also expected to bring three-year-old Archie and Lilibet nearly a year old.

The children will probably finally meet their little cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Lilibet was never introduced to her royal family, while Archie hasn’t been to the UK since he was six months old.

But there is no invitation for the shamed Duke of York, even in a private capacity, showing how far from grace the Queen’s son has fallen.

The Queen’s Birthday Parade at Horse Guards in London is the first official Bank Holiday weekend Platinum Jubilee event, and the most attended by the Windsors.

Many thought Her Majesty’s appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the traditional post-parade flypast would be the most anticipated moment of the day.

But it’s likely that all eyes will, in fact, be on the family reunion taking place 50 yards up the road.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were invited by the Queen to join family members in watching the spectacular military event from the Major General’s office overlooking the Whitehall Parade Ground.

The hall – once used by the Duke of Wellington – spans the entrance to Horse Guards. This is where dignitaries traditionally look if they are not involved in the running of the parade.

The group will not include the Queen, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge or Princess Royal.

Her Majesty will remain at Buckingham Palace where she will receive the returning cavalry salute from the balcony.

Charles will take the salute as the Color of the Irish Guards of the 1st Battalion are deployed and inspect the troops of the Household Division on behalf of the monarch.

He will be joined by his eldest son and his sister, all three on horseback.

The Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Cambridge, Earl and Countess of Wessex and many other members of the Royal Family will travel to Horse Guards Parade from the palace in horse-drawn carriages.

They will then disembark and watch the rest of the event from the Major General’s office alongside Harry and Meghan, who will arrive by car.

The big royal party will also include all of the Queen’s grandchildren and their wives. In addition to the Sussexes, there will be Princess Beatrice and her husband Edo, Princess Eugenie and her husband’s children Jack and Anne, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and their families. Meghan will not have seen any family members since she and her husband acrimoniously left the royal family and moved to North America in early 2020, while the prince saw them only very briefly at the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh last year.

The last public occasion the Sussexes attended together in the UK was the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in March 2020, when the atmosphere couldn’t have been more awkward. William and Kate practically masked Harry and Meghan that day, leaving Prince Edward and Sophie to try to keep the peace.

Fortunately, William, who was most deeply affected by his brother’s actions and struggled to hide his hurt, won’t be forced to greet the couple in public. And Kate proved to be an admirable peacemaker when she insisted on breaking the ice and talking to Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

Harry and Meghan are staying with their children at their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. They were still expected to join the congregation for tomorrow’s service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s 70-year reign at St Paul’s Cathedral, but their participation in Trooping is seen as a branch of Her Majesty’s Extra Olive Tree.