Will the Sussexes Fly to the U.K. for the Platinum Jubilee?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 30 April 2022

For the next month, it’ll be the royal question of all questions: Will they, or won’t they?

Of course, we’re talking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and whether they will, in fact, return to the U.K. for the Queen’s historic Platinum Jubilee in early June. Tongues wagged after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s surprise April 14 visit to Her Majesty at Windsor Castle, which apparently went so well that the couple were invited to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Speaking to Hoda Kotb on Today earlier this month, Harry said of his attendance “I don’t know yet. There’s lots of things; security issues and everything else. So, this is what I’m trying to do, trying to make it possible that, you know, I can get my kids to meet her.” (Archie—who turns three this week—has met the Queen but hasn’t seen her in person since the Sussex step back in 2020, when he wasn’t yet a year old; Lilibet, named after Her Majesty’s childhood nickname, has never met her namesake face-to-face.)

According to Russell Myers, The Daily Mirror’s royal editor, Harry is “already making plans” to be there, per The Daily Express. Myers, speaking on the most recent episode of “Pod Save The Queen,” said that while Meghan and the children’s attendance “remains to be seen,” Harry’s aides are already at work making the trip happen.

“He said he didn’t know whether he was going to come over for the Jubilee and he was citing issues such as security and everything else,” Myers said. “My understanding is that his aides are already making plans for him to come over. Whether that will be with Meghan and the children remains to be seen. But Harry said himself that he wanted to create an opportunity to get the issues sorted out so that his children could see the Queen.”

According to the Mirror, a security workaround could be put in place to quell Harry’s fears—the Metropolitan Police could offer Harry taxpayer-funded protection for public family events, much like the Jubilee.

“Harry loved seeing his grandmother again and he is acutely aware of her advancing years,” an insider told the outlet. “He is desperate for Lili to meet her great-grandmother and for Archie to see her again now [that] he is likely to enjoy and remember the event.”

Myers, speaking on “Pod Save The Queen,” said that the Sussexes attending the Jubilee would suit their “brand purpose.”

“I personally think that Harry and Meghan want to have that moment with the royal family,” he said. “It suits the brand—brand Sussex. I think that it suits their purpose brand-wise to be seen with the Queen, to be seen to still be royal…I think they benefit from having that association because on a global scale, seeming to do their own thing but also having an association with the royal family gives them credence.”

Orrrrrr, they just love their grandmother and grandmother-in-law? *shrugs shoulders*

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.