Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be in attendance at Princess Diana tribute in the United Kingdom.
More than 100 guests, including Sir Elton John and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are expected to attend the event at Kensington Palace on Tuesday, local time. To add insult to injury, travel restrictions to the UK have subsequently been relaxed, allowing the Sussexes to avoid quarantine at home.
Despite rumors that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were going to attend Princess Diana's tribute ceremony at Kensington Palace next week, a royal official confirmed to The Telegraph that they will remain in the United States.
Royal family to attend an event honoring Princess Diana
Prince Harry was expected to attend the event, which was previously slated for July as a celebration after the unveiling of Princess Diana's 60th birthday monument but was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Duke did attend the opening in July alongside his older brother, Prince William, and the two were all smiles in a poignant reunion that warmed hearts all over the world. Meghan Markle, 40, has remained in the United States since the birth of her second child, Lilibet Diana, in June.
According to rumors, the couple will have Lilibet's christening at the Episcopal Church in California, indicating that they have no plans to return to the United Kingdom, as per News.com.au. It was previously assumed that Meghan and Harry will christen Lilibet at Windsor Castle in front of the Queen, as they did with their first child, Archie, who is now two years old.
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's second child, was born on June 4 this year in Santa Barbara, California.
It was previously speculated that the couple, who named their four-month-old after the Queen's childhood nickname, will christen their kid in front of the queen, who has yet to meet her great-granddaughter, at Windsor Castle.
According to insiders, a christening in the UK is "highly unlikely," and the couple would instead choose to christen their daughter at the Episcopal Church of the United States. The decision has prompted speculation about when the Queen would see the great-grandchild named after her in person.
Lilibet won't be christened in the UK
Per Daily Mail, despite attending a Catholic high school, Meghan was baptized and confirmed in the Church of England by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in a private ceremony at the Chapel Royal.
The Archbishop of Canterbury led a private 45-minute ceremony in the Chapel Royal in 2018, which was kept a closely guarded secret with just a few royal aides present. Meghan Markle follows in the footsteps of Kate Middleton, who was baptized as a child but received a private confirmation following her engagement to Prince William.
The rite followed the Church's entire protocol, with holy water from the Jordan River poured on Meghan's head from a private Royal Family font. Archie, Lilibet's brother, was also baptized by the Archbishop at St George's Chapel, Windsor, in unprecedented secrecy in 2019.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they "felt fortunate" to have been able to enjoy their son's christening with his godparents at the time of Archie's christening, and shared two photos from the big day.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stood beside the Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales, Doria Ragland, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle a few hours after the ceremony.
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