Fab Four get set for reunion at St Paul’s – but could it be even frostier than the last?
IF THEIR last public appearance – all stiff body language and rictus grins – was awkward, the next reunion of the Sussexes and the Cambridges will surely be frostier still.
Now that Harry and Meghan have announced their attendance at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, there is speculation they will join the Royal Family at the service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 3, which will inevitably mean rubbing shoulders with William and Kate.
When the once Fab Four previously appeared before the world – on March 9, 2020, at Westminster Abbey – every glance and gesture was weighed for evidence of discomfiture.
‘Lilibet’s birthday falls in the middle of the jubilee’
The tension between the couples was plain to see.
Back then, the newly exiled Sussexes had just plunged the House of Windsor into turmoil by quitting their frontline roles, prompting much anger and disbelief. But this was a whole year before the deeply acrimonious fallout resulting from the interview with Oprah Winfrey and the many wounding revelations that have since emerged.
With relations now at rock bottom, and with only working Royals allowed to join the Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony following Trooping the Colour on June 2, keen interest will inevitably focus on St Paul’s.
Nothing is set in stone, however, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are apt to keep their intentions secret until the last minute.
All that one Palace source would say was: ‘Meghan, Harry and the children remain much-loved members of the family and, as such, have been invited to family events to celebrate the jubilee.’
What cannot be in doubt is the delight the Windsors will derive from seeing the couple’s children, three-year-old Archie, who has not been in the UK since he was a baby, and California-born Lilibet, who has dual citizenship but who has never met her British family.
Might the Royals squeeze in a party to mark Lilibet’s first birthday, which falls on June 4 in the middle of the jubilee? It is anyone’s guess. Less likely, say sources, is that the Duke and Duchess will take the opportunity to have their daughter christened in Britain.
Harry is pursuing legal action against the Home Office after he was stripped of his Metropolitan Police protection when he quit the UK. He claims that it is too dangerous for his family to return to Britain unless they have their bodyguards reinstated.
But it was reported after last month’s visit that Harry seemed ‘mollified’ by the arrangements put in place for him and Meghan, making a jubilee appearance more likely.
In addition to the St Paul’s service, there is speculation that the couple will attend the Party At The Palace concert on June 4 and the Jubilee Pageant the following day.