DUKE AND DUCHESS TO BOYCOTT THE JUBILEE?
Harry and Meghan may miss the Jubilee celebrations in June over fears of a public backlash, my sources tell me.
Speculation the couple will fly to England to join the rest of the royals as they appear in public to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne has heightened since their surprise visit to Windsor Castle last month.
Harry even went on to imply in his interview with American television that the only thing stopping them being involved were ‘issues of security and other issues’.
Speaking to promote his Invictus Games in April, Harry seemed to suggest he and Meghan were willing to join the rest of his family if these ‘issues’ are resolved.
However, a source close to the Jubilee’s organisers claimed one of the possible issues to which he refers goes deeper than his rift with Charles and William.
According to the source, there are ‘serious concerns’ about how the public may react to seeing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the balcony of Buckingham Palace alongside the rest of the royals. Their last appearance there was at Trooping the Colour in June 2019.
The Royal Family have been warned that the reception the Sussexes could receive if they were to appear at any of the official Jubilee engagements may not be warm. The once celebrated couple have seen their popularity ratings collapse on this side of the Atlantic in the two years since they quit Britain and their lives as royals.
It is feared the couple’s presence at the Jubilee will simply gift angry fans of the royals the chance to show how they feel about Harry and Meghan’s repeated ‘truth bomb’ attacks and their now infamous performance on Oprah Winfrey’s sofa.
Millions of people are expected to mark the Jubilee during the extended bank holiday at the start of next month, with several high-profile appearances by senior members of the family. My source tells me: ‘The Jubilee is fast approaching and yet a question mark remains about whether the duke and duchess will return to Britain.
‘The issue of what kind of reception they may receive if they do come is now in the forefront of everyone’s minds.’