Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Not Invited to King Charles’ Trooping the Colour

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be in the U.K. on Saturday for King Charles’ first Trooping the Colour as monarch.

People reports the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not invited to the annual event, marking the monarch’s birthday. Buckingham Palace and the Sussex’s had no comment on the story.

Harry and Meghan did attend the Trooping the Colour celebration last year, which marked Queen Elizabeth’s last before her passing.

The parade, which started in the 1600s, will include British Army troops and a special flyover by the Royal Air Force.

Royal expert Gareth Russell told Us Weekly, “This is a slightly spectacular version of it. The first one of a new reign is a bit punchier and has a higher production value. We know that all seven of the regiments will be there, and this is more than we’re used to seeing.”

Charles will also bring back an old tradition… riding a horse in the parade! His mother Queen Elizabeth II stopped riding horses in the procession in 1986, opting for a carriage instead.

Russell said, “[Charles] certainly wanted to take the salute from horseback. It matches the tone of the inaugural, for want of a better word, Trooping of the Colour for his reign.”

Princess Anne and Prince Edward will reportedly be on horseback as well.

Prince William is also expected to have an elevated role. “There is a very keen determination to present him as the next in line,” Russell explained. “I think… he’ll have moved up. He essentially will be occupying the place that his father occupied at these [events] under the reign of Elizabeth II.”

Earlier this month, William thanked the troops for enduring an especially hot rehearsal of the Trooping the Colour, which resulted in two guards fainting.

The prince tweeted, “A big thank you to every soldier who took part in the Colonel’s Review this morning in the heat. Difficult conditions but you all did a really good job. Thank you.”