MEGHAN MARKLE, the former Duchess of Sussex, appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony after last year’s Trooping the Colour ceremony but triggered speculation by not being part of the royal welcoming committee.
Trooping the Colour takes place each year to mark the Queens official birthday. This year, as a result of coronavirus, the ceremony will be low key and closed off to the public.
Instead of taking place on Londons Horse Guards Parade it will be hosted in Windsor Castle, where the Queen has been living since the lockdown began.
Last year Meghan appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony, along with other senior royals, after the parade to watch an RAF flypast.
The event took place whilst Meghan was on maternity leave having given birth to her first child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the previous month.
According to Hello Magazine the reason Meghan missed the welcoming party may have been because she was tending to her recently born son.
Alternatively the publication suggests she may have been changing her outfit, as she was minus her coat and white gloves when she reappeared on the balcony.
A source told Hello last year Meghan was keen to take part in the event despite having recently given birth.
They said: “The Duchess is still on maternity leave, but this is a family moment, with the wider members of the royal family all in attendance.
“The Queens birthday celebration is a family event.”
In January Meghan and Harry shocked the world by announcing they were stepping down as senior members of the royal family.
The couple said they intended to become “financially self-sufficient” and would divide their time between North America and Britain.
Following discussions with other senior royals they agreed to repay the taxpayer money spent refurbishing their former Frogmore Cottage home, near Windsor, and dropped their Sussex Royal brand.
After initially spending time in Canada the couple have now settled with their son in Los Angeles.
