Meghan Markle, Prince Harry may return to the UK for the Queen’s birthday

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could be reunited with the royal family at the Queen’s birthday celebrations in June.
• Royal aides told The Sunday Times that the scale of the event will be adapted to meet the government’s social distance restrictions in effect at the time.
• Another aide said that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry should return to the event, as it is a “family event”.
• Harry previously talked about plans to return to the UK in 2021 and said that “I would have been back if it weren’t for COVID.”
• Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

Plans are being made for the Queen’s 95th birthday celebrations in June, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expected to attend.

The Sunday Times reports that the monarch is determined to “get back to business” with Trooping the Color, an annual parade held every summer at Buckingham Palace in honor of her birthday.

The parade, which usually consists of 1,400 soldiers parading, 200 horses and 400 musicians at Buckingham Palace, is likely to be reduced to adhere to any restrictions of social distance that will take effect in June, when it should take place.

Last year’s event was replaced by a socially distanced military ceremony at Windsor Castle. He was not assisted by any member of the royal family other than the Queen.

Royal aides told The Sunday Times that Trooping the Color is both an official occasion and a “family occasion” and therefore the Duke and Duchess of Sussex must attend.

A senior royal adviser told the publication: “The current plan is for the Queen’s birthday parade to proceed in London normally, with the acceptance that it may need to be adapted or reduced depending on the guidelines in force at the time. aspiration and the final desire is to make it happen. “

If Harry and Markle are able to attend the event on June 12, it also means that they are likely to be there to celebrate Prince Philip’s 100th birthday on June 10.

Representatives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Buckingham Palace declined to comment when contacted by Insider.

The Sussex bought their first home together in Santa Barbara, California, in August. They have not returned to the UK since relinquishing royal duties in March 2020 due to travel restrictions imposed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

England is currently in a national blockade, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing last week that the country’s stay order would be in effect until at least mid-February.

Harry and Markle have yet to announce official plans to reunite with the royal family when restrictions have eased. However, the duke said earlier that he hopes to return to the UK in 2021.

“We have a whole Rugby League World Cup coming up next year, so I definitely intend to go back. I would have come back if it weren’t for COVID,” said Harry during a video call with the Rugby Football League in August.