Prince Harry recently returned to the U.K. for a series of royal engagements, where he will soon be joined by wife Meghan Markle. Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement to Us Weekly that the couple will attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 9, which will mean a royal reunion with Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are also scheduled to attend.
Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Head of the Commonwealth, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will also be in attendance at the annual event. The service will begin at 3 p.m. local time and will include a reflection by Commonwealth heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and musical performances by Craig David and Alexandra Burke.
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The Commonwealth Service is expected to be Harry and Markle’s last royal engagement before they officially step back as senior members of the royal family, a decision they initially announced in January. Harry and Markle’s son, Archie, will reportedly remain in Canada during his parents’ trip overseas, according to The Times. “The news will be disappointing for the queen and the royal family, who are understood to be ‘very sad’ that they have seen so little of Archie since his birth,” The Times reports. Harry and Markle previously left Archie in Canada in January when they were both in the U.K. for a brief time after their announcement.
The couple had been based on Vancouver Island on and off since late 2019 and has been living in the area full time since January. It was recently reported by CBC News that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will no longer provide security to Harry and Markle after their royal exit.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex choosing to relocate to Canada on a part-time basis presented our government with a unique and unprecedented set of circumstances,” reads a statement from Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s office. “The RCMP has been engaged with officials in the U.K. from the very beginning regarding security considerations.”
“As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognized as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis. At the request of the Metropolitan Police, the RCMP has been providing assistance to the Met since the arrival of the Duke and Duchess to Canada intermittently since November 2019. The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Stephen Pond
