The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of York will not be on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the start of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, as the Queen has kept the guest list to close working family members only.
The monarch has ruled that only those “currently undertaking official public duties” on her behalf will be on the balcony for Trooping the Colour, as well as the fly past and photographs to open the Jubilee celebrations.
She made the decision after “careful consideration”, a spokesman said.
The Queen intends to appear on the balcony for the annual event celebrating her official birthday on June 2.
She will be joined by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.
Although they are not official working members of the Royal family by virtue of their age, the Cambridge children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will also be invited, along with the Wessex children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. Sir Timothy Laurence, the husband of the Princess Royal, will also be there in recognition of his enduring support of her work.
The Sussexes, who left the working Royal family for a new life in California, are not invited to the Trooping the Colour balcony, nor is the Duke of York, who stepped down following revelations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile.
The Duke's daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who have been on the balcony in the past, along with Peter Phillips and his family, will not attend.
They are likely to appear at other events during the Jubilee weekend. The service of thanksgiving for the Queen, held at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 3, will be open to members of the Royal family regardless of their working status, as will the Big Jubilee Lunches and the Saturday night concert.
Buckingham Palace did not confirm plans for a second “balcony moment” or another gathering of the Royal family, widely expected to take place at the end of the pageant on June 5.
A spokesman said: “After careful consideration, the Queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the Royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen.”
Following confirmation of the Jubilee plans from Buckingham Palace, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that they would be attending part of the celebrations with their children Archie and Lilibet.
A spokesman said: “Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited and honoured to attend the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this June with their children.”
The Queen “intends” to attend Trooping the Colour and the St Paul’s Cathedral service, with modifications made for her comfort.
There will be no procession to the cathedral, with the Queen making a low-key entrance through a side door rather than walking up the steps to the main west entrance.
The monarch is “looking forward” to taking part in the celebrations over the Jubilee weekend, her spokesman said, with any attendance at other events to be confirmed at the last minute.
She will not take an active role in the pageant route, with the Gold State Coach instead having its first outing in 20 years after a revamp to allow it to screen footage of the young Queen.
The coach, which has been used at coronations and jubilees since 1762, will open the pageant, drawn by eight Windsor Grey horses.
Its windows have been remodelled for the occasion of the Jubilee, and will show archive film footage of Coronation Day in 1953 “evoking the image of the young Queen in the coach”.
At the National Service of Thanksgiving, the congregation and those watching on television will hear a new anthem from Judith Weir, the Master of the Queen’s Music, who has set the third chapter of the Book of Proverbs to music.