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

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were able to reunite with the royal family in June during the Queen’s birthday celebration.
• Royal assistants told The Sunday Times that the scope of the event would be adjusted to meet the then monetary constraints of the government.
• Another assistant said Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could be expected to return for the event as it was a ‘family event’.
• Earlier, Harry spoke of plans to return to the UK in 2021, saying he “would have been back had it not been for COVID.”
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According to reports, plans are underway in June to celebrate the Queen’s 95th birthday, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expected to attend.

The Sunday Times reports that the monarch is determined to ‘get going again’ with Trooping the Color, an annual parade held at Buckingham Palace every summer in honor of her birthday.

The parade, which typically consists of 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians in Buckingham Palace, is likely to be scaled down to meet any social distance restrictions that will take effect in June when it takes place.

Last year’s event was replaced with a socially distant military ceremony at Windsor Castle. No members of the royal family except the queen attended.

Royal assistants told The Sunday Times that Trooping the Color was an official and ‘family event’, and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would therefore be expected.

A senior royal assistant told the publication: ‘The current plan is that the Queen’s birthday parade will normally continue in London, with the assumption that it may need to be adjusted or scaled down, depending on the guidelines at the time. But the pursuit and the ultimate desire is to make it happen. ‘

If Harry and Markle can attend the event on June 12, it also means they will likely 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 Insider contacted them.

The Sussexes bought their first home in Santa Barbara, California, in August. They have not returned to the UK since resigning from royal duties in March 2020 due to travel restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

England are currently in a national exclusion, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing last week that the country’s home stay would be in place until at least mid-February.

Harry and Markle are yet to announce official plans to reunite with the royal family when restrictions are lifted. However, the duke had earlier said he hoped to return to the UK in 2021.

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