Sussexes to keep low profile on jubilee visit
Duke and Duchess appear to rule out any surprises to avoid upstaging the Queen over celebratory weekend
THE DUKE and Duchess of Sussex have signalled they will stick to the script during their flying visit to Britain for the Platinum Jubilee, avoiding “surprise” private events that might overshadow the Queen’s celebration.
The Duke and Duchess, who are bringing both of their young children to the UK for the first time, will attend several official public engagements in London alongside members of the Royal family over the bank holiday weekend.
They include the service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday and the Trooping the Colour a day earlier, though they will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside senior members of the working Royal family.
Many of the Royal family’s younger members will attend Saturday’s Platinum Party at the Palace, starring Diana Ross, Queen and Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, and Duran Duran. It will also include performances from musicals including Hamilton, a show the Duke and Duchess have seen in person.
Those organising the jubilee have privately expressed frustration over a lack of clarity about where the Sussexes will be appearing and when. They fear the novelty of having the couple in Britain will overshadow the celebration.
Their habit of making “surprise” appearances – most recently from the Duchess at the memorial to murdered primary school children in Uvalde, Texas – has led to concerns of a media “circus” during the visit.
The Daily Telegraph understands they intend to limit themselves to public engagements during the jubilee, spending time with family privately but making no unannounced visits elsewhere.
They are thought to have been in touch with the palace only to discuss logistical arrangements for the weekend, with royal aides kept unaware of their wider plans. Of the prospect of the couple only doing official engagements, one source said: “We’ll see.”
The couple retain patronages in a handful of UK charities, including Wellchild and Smartworks, with the Duchess thought to have stayed in touch with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen at Grenfell Tower.
It is not clear whether the Duke and Duchess will be joined on by a camera crew from Netflix, who would need to apply for official media accreditation to film public jubilee events. The couple recently travelled to The Hague in the Netherlands with film crews to make a documentary about the Invictus Games.
The couple’s team have denied that a reality TV show is in the works, but this month Page Six, the US celebrity gossip website, reported Netflix is now filming an “at home with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex-style docuseries”.
Last time the couple came to Britain, they visited the Queen at Windsor Castle. The Duke later discussed it with US TV host Hoda Kotb, telling her he is “trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her”.
He has since overcome alleged security issues to bring Archie, three, and Lilibet, nearly one, to Britain. Lilibet, named for the Queen’s childhood nickname, has not yet met her great-grandmother, and will celebrate her first birthday on Saturday.
Last night, it was reported that the Queen plans to stand alongside her three heirs on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the final moment of her Platinum Jubilee weekend.
The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Prince George will appear next to the Queen to convey the future of the monarchy, according to The Mirror.
They will be joined by the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge, but a decision has yet to be taken on whether the Cambridges’ younger children will also appear, the newspaper reported.