Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had lunch with the Queen and senior royals behind closed doors yesterday as part of the Royal Family’s private Platinum Jubilee celebrations following Trooping The Colour, it has been claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to remain mostly low-profile over the four-day weekend, with no sign of the Netflix cameras that followed them around at the Invictus Games in the Netherlands in April. But they will attend today’s Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral – their first joint royal engagement in two years.
Prince Charles will officially represent the Queen at the service in London this morning after she was forced to pull out last night, and there will also be no appearance from Prince Andrew after he tested positive for coronavirus.
The Sussexes, who are staying at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor while visiting from California, were not allowed on the Buckingham Palace balcony yesterday and instead watched proceedings from Horse Guards Parade.
But today’s service will be Harry and Meghan’s first appearance with The Firm since the frosty Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in March 2020 shortly before they officially stepped down as senior royals.
The 96-year-old Queen will miss today’s service at St Paul’s following a last-minute decision announced by the Palace at 7.30pm last night after she experienced ‘discomfort’ during the Trooping The Colour events.
She is understood to have suffered episodic mobility issues yesterday – and, in a statement, the Palace revealed the Queen ‘greatly enjoyed’ her birthday parade and flypast but ‘did experience some discomfort’.
It said: ‘Taking into account the journey and activity required to participate in tomorrow’s National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, Her Majesty, with great reluctance, has concluded that she will not attend.’
It is understood the decision ahead of the service, which begins at 11.30am today, was considered regrettable but sensible due to the length of the journey and time involved and the physical demands the service would require.
Senior members of the monarchy at St Paul’s this morning will also include the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Sussexes, who will be joined by the extended royal family.
Prince Charles and the Queen on the balcony at Buckingham Palace in London during Trooping the Colour yesterday
Meghan Markle appears to shush the royal children as she is seen inside the Major General’s Office overlooking Horse Guards Parade in London during Trooping the Colour celebrations yesterday, with Savannah and Isla Phillips and Lena and Mia Tindall
Prince Harry speaks to the Duke of Kent with Meghan Markle as they attend Trooping the Colour in London yesterday
Meanwhile key workers, charity volunteers and members of the armed forces have been invited to the Queen’s service of thanksgiving in recognition of their contribution to public life.
More than 400 people, who have been making a difference either nationally or locally, are among the guests and many have been working tirelessly during the pandemic.
They will join members of the royal family at St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the monarch’s 70-year reign, although the Queen herself will not attend after experiencing ‘some discomfort’ during Thursday’s events following previous mobility issues.
The Bishop of London said today that she is ‘excited’ ahead of the thanksgiving service. Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, who will be leading the blessing at St Paul’s, told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’m excited, I think.’
She added that she was nervous about the ceremonial regalia she needs to wear. ‘It’s a coat called the George V coat. It’s quite an old coat, which is a cape and it sits on me, but of course it was designed for men because I’m the first woman who happens to be the Bishop of London,’ she said. ‘So, it doesn’t sit quite as well on me, so I’m slightly nervous.’
She said that Her Majesty’s Christian faith has ‘always shaped her’ and she feels privileged to play a part in the service and ‘give thanks’ to The Queen for her service to the country.
The Dean of St Paul’s, Dr David Ison, will say in The Bidding: ‘We come together in this Cathedral Church today to offer to God our thanks and praise for the reign of Her Majesty the Queen and especially for her 70 years of faithful and dedicated service.
‘As we gather from communities across her realm and the Commonwealth of Nations, we rejoice in the diverse and varied lives of all those whom she serves, and in the beauty and abundance of the world in which we live.
Royal fans gather early this morning at St Paul’s Cathedral in London ahead of the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen
Royal enthusiasts gather this morning at St Paul’s Cathedral ahead of the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen
Royal fans gather early this morning at St Paul’s Cathedral in London ahead of the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen
Royal enthusiasts gather this morning at St Paul’s Cathedral ahead of the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen
‘Inspired by words and music, we pray that God will continue to bless and guide Her Majesty, and that we may all receive grace to honour life and to live in harmony with one another; and we continue to pray for those whose lives are marred by conflict, suffering and tragedy.
‘And mindful of the call of God to look to the needs of others, we commit ourselves afresh to caring for our world and all for whom it is home, striving always to seek out and nurture that which is good in people and in all creation.’
Those invited in recognition of their service have all been recipients of honours in the New Year or Birthday Honours lists and their number also includes public servants and representatives from social enterprises and voluntary groups.
Boris Johnson, who will give a New Testament reading, and members of his Cabinet are among the guests along with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, first ministers of the devolved governments and former prime ministers.
The diplomatic world will be represented by high commissioners and ambassadors from across the world and also attending are governors general and clergy from world faiths.
The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell will give the sermon after the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tested positive for Covid-19. The Dean of the Chapel Royal, Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London, will give the Collect and the Blessing, and the Dean of St Paul’s will conduct the service.
Young people representing countries where the Queen is head of state will lead the ‘Act of Commitment’ celebrating the life and reign of the monarch, led by the Reverend Robert Kozak.
During the day, one of the country’s largest bells, the Great Paul, will be rung before and after the service, the first time it will have been heard at a royal occasion.
The event will feature 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.
Bible readings, hymns and prayers to express thankfulness for the Queen’s reign, faith and service will also be heard by the congregation as the nation marks the monarch’s 70 years on the throne.
Before the service begins, the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth (Royal Band), will play as the congregation arrives and the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry will perform to mark royal arrivals, while the Fanfare Trumpeters of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force will accompany later in the service.
The choirs of St Paul’s Cathedral and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal will join together to sing the Vivats, I Was Glad by Sir Hubert Parry, performed at every coronation and now for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
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