Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Attend Jubilee Service, but Don’t Sit with William & Kate

All eyes were on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they joined the royal family for a special service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.

The event was part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and many royals were in attendance, including Prince Charles and Camilla, and Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Tensions have been running high between Harry and Meghan and the royals since their candid interview about the family with Oprah in March 2021.

This is the first time Harry and Meghan have attended an event with William and Kate since the interview. It is also the first time the foursome has been seen at the same occasion since 2020, when Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals and left the U.K. for California.

The two couples did not sit together at the thanksgiving service, instead sitting on opposite sides of the aisle. Harry and Meghan sat in the second row alongside Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and their husbands. Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, sat in front of them.

Across the aisle in the front row were Charles, Camilla, William and Kate. People magazine notes that William and Kate kept their eyes forward as they passed Harry and Meghan’s pew to take their seats and that Harry also kept his eyes straight ahead.

The Sussexes and Cambridges certainly looked their best for the appearance.

Meghan chose a Dior stone-white trench coat and skirt with a matching wide-brimmed Dior hat for the outing, while Harry wore a morning coat with his military medals.

Meanwhile, Kate wore a pale yellow Emilia Wickstead dress coat with a matching hat and Bahrain pearl drop earrings, while William also wore a morning coat and military medals.

The guest noticeably missing from the special day was the guest of honor — Queen Elizabeth II. While the gathering is a time give thanks for the Queen’s reign, the Palace announced she would not be attending due to “some discomfort” she experienced at the Trooping of the Colour parade.

"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,” the statement said. It was later announced she would also miss Saturday's Epsom Derby.

Prince Andrew was also absent, after announcing he had tested positive for COVID-19.

While this marked their first public appearance with the family, Harry and Meghan had also attended the Trooping of the Colour parade on Thursday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were photographed goofing around with the royal kiddos in some playful pics posted by People magazine. Check them out here!

In various photos Meghan and Harry appear to be jokingly shushing the littles, including Zara Tindall’s children Mia, 8, and Lena, 3, and Peter Phillips’ daughter Savannah, 11.

Meghan and Harry’s son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, who turns 1 on Saturday, were not spotted in the photos, but did reportedly join their parents for the trip to the U.K.

The Queen previously announced that only working members of the royal family would make an appearance during Trooping the Colour. Meghan and Harry, who have stepped down as senior royals, did not join the family on the Buckingham Palace balcony, instead watching from the Major General’s Office overlooking the Horse Guards Parade.

Meghan stunned in a navy dress with an asymmetrical wide-brimmed Stephen Jones hat with an large navy bow, while Harry matched in a navy suit.

Family members who did participate in the Trooping of the Colour, also known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade, were the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and William and Kate’s children Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.

Check out Louis' funny faces in the video below!