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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Sami Quadri

Harry and Meghan reunited with royal family for first time in two years at Queen’s thanksgiving service

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been reunited with the royal family in public for the first time in more than two years.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex travelled to the UK from their home in the United States with their children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 11 months, to join the Queen for some of her Jubilee celebrations.

Royal fans were heard cheering as the pair entered St Paul’s Cathedral for the Service of Thanksgiving on Friday morning.

The couple smiled and waved at spectators as they walked up the church steps hand in hand.

They were sat in the second row from the front, with Harry next to Princess Eugenie’s husband Jack Brooksbank and Meghan beside Princess Margaret’s daughter Lady Sarah Chatto. However they were were seated a long distance away from Prince William and Kate.

The Sussexes attended the Trooping celebrations at Horse Guards on Thursday.

However, they stayed out of the spotlight and spent most of their time inside the Duke of Wellington’s former office with around 30 other members of the family.

It marks the first time Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, have been reunited with the wider royal family for more than two years, and the first time Archie has been to the UK since November 2019, when he was six months old.

It is not known whether a Netflix camera crew is following the couple during their trip. 

Harry is filming a documentary for the streaming giant about the Invictus Games, and a large crew documented the couple’s movements last month during the games in The Hague.

Lilibet, who was born in California and had not previously been to Britain, will celebrate her first birthday on Saturday.

The Sussexes are rumoured to be staying at Frogmore Cottage, their home on the Windsor estate, which is understood no longer to be occupied by Princess Eugenie and her family. They had previously rented it from Harry and Meghan.

Prince Andrew missed the thanksgiving service after testing positive for Covid-19.

It was the only official jubilee event he had been due to attend.

The prince’s last public appearance was at a memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh in March.

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