Balcony heartbreak: Harry and Meghan missing for seventh consecutive year

Prince Harry and Meghna were absent for the seventh consecutive year from the balcony of Buckingham Palace when King Charles's family gathered their to celebrate his official birthday on Saturday, June 13 2026.  

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from their royal duties in 2020 and settled in the US after developing some serious differences with senior members of the family.

Harry has been reportedly making efforts to make peace with his father since the king was diagnosed with cancer in 2024.  The Duke also had a meeting with the king at Clarence House as part of her attempts at reconciliation.

The last time Harry and Meghan made in appearance on the balcony was in 2019 when Queen Elizabeth II was alive.

In following two years events were heavily scaled back or cancelled due to COVID. Although the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in the UK for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and watched the parade, but did not appear on the balcony.

Meanwhile, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Princes Anne, her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Edward and his wife Duchess Sophie joined the monarch to make the appearance on the palace balcony as they watched fly-past on Trooping the Color. 

An Instagram post featuring  the royals on balcony read, "Members of the Royal Family watch the fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace following The King’s Birthday Parade."