Harry and Meghan to join royal reunion

Sussexes will attend jubilee service at St Paul’s in family’s biggest gathering since their wedding

THE DUKE and Duchess of Sussex are expected to join the biggest Royal family reunion since their wedding next week as the Queen’s relatives gather en masse to celebrate her reign at St Paul’s Cathedral.

All of the Queen’s cousins, children and grandchildren are due to attend the Platinum Jubilee service of thanksgiving for what will be the biggest royal outing of the bank holiday weekend, although the youngest family members will not take part.

Recent additions to the family, such as the Sussexes’ son Archie, three, and daughter Lilibet, who turns one next Saturday, are unlikely to be present.

The service will take place on Friday next week, bringing the Queen’s nearest and dearest together, young and old, working and non-working royals.

The last time the Duke and Duchess, who are due to fly over from California with their children next week, were surrounded by so many members of the Royal family was when they married at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

The Duke of York will be among congregants in what is expected to be his sole appearance of the festivities.

The Queen’s relatives will attend as family members, meaning that the Sussexes and Prince Andrew, who are no longer working members of the Royal family, will be there in a private capacity.

The Queen’s participation is unlikely to be confirmed until the day, but it is said to be one of the jubilee events that she is particularly keen to attend.

The service will be the only public event of the four-day celebration for which she will be surrounded by all four of her children and all of her grandchildren, from the eldest, Peter Phillips, 44, to the youngest, James, Viscount Severn, 14.

Her cousins and their respective partners, Princess Alexandra, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent, are also due to attend, as are her niece and nephew, Lady Sarah Chatto and the Earl of Snowdon, with their families.

Palace aides have confirmed that the Queen has been experiencing “episodic mobility problems” since the autumn. They are said to be working on plans to ensure that she can attend with dignity, as she will be unable to walk up the many steps at the main entrance.

Members of the Royal family are expected to arrive at St Paul’s from 11am.

Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, will be rung before the service, which will be broadcast live on BBC One.

The service will include bible readings, anthems, prayers and congregational hymns to express thanks for the Queen’s reign, faith and serviceher desire to foster unity and peace and her commitment to care for God’s creation. It will include a new anthem by Judith Weir, master of the Queen’s music, that sets to music words from the third chapter of the book of Proverbs.

Most members of the Royal family will attend other events throughout the four-day weekend, but not in such large numbers.

Many, including the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal, will attend Trooping the Colour on horseback next Thursday. Plans are being drawn up that could see the trio take the royal salute in the monarch’s place during the parade, although no final decision has been made.

It is hoped that the Queen will be well enough to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside the working members of her family after the ceremony for the traditional RAF flypast.

Some of the younger royals, such as the Queen’s grandchildren, are thought likely to attend the Platinum Party at the Palace on Saturday June 4, while it is thought a second balcony appearance could be on the cards following the Jubilee Pageant through the streets of London on the Sunday.

‘Palace aides are said to be working on plans to ensure that the Queen can attend with dignity’