LONDON, May  27, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to 
attend a cathedral service early next month as part of celebrations for Queen 
Elizabeth II's Jubilee year, their biographer said Friday.
      
 Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, stepped down from royal duties and moved 
to California early in 2021. Since then they have visited the UK together only 
once.
      
 Omid Scobie, who co-authored a favourable biography of the couple, told 
reporters in London: "We'll definitely see Harry and Megan at the Thanksgiving 
service at St Paul's Cathedral."
       
The service on June 3 will be "really the first official moment" when the 
couple join the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, he said. 
      
 "That's really what they've been planning all along," Scobie said, calling 
jubilee events a "glimpse" into the royal family's future.
      
 The service at the landmark cathedral where Harry's father wed Lady Diana 
Spencer in 1981 is designed to give thanks for the queen's long reign and one 
of the main events during four days of public celebrations.
      
 British newspapers had reported that Harry and Meghan were likely to attend 
the service but Scobie's comment will be seen as confirmation, given his close 
links.
       
The queen's disgraced second son Prince Andrew -- who earlier this year 
settled a US civil claim for sexual assault -- is reportedly also planning to 
go.
      
 Scobie said the public could witness a "special moment" of the queen 
meeting Meghan and Harry's two children, Lilibet and Archie, her 
great-grandchildren.
      
 Lilibet -- who turns one on June 4 -- has never met her 96-year-old 
great-grandmother who was called the nickname when she was a girl. 
      
 He added there were rumours that Harry and Meghan would hold the 
christening of Lilibet in the UK, but to his knowledge, this would not happen 
during jubilee events.
      
 Harry and Meghan's decision to move to north America, for privacy and 
financial independence, caused shockwaves through the royal family.
      
 But it was compounded by public criticisms from the couple, including in a 
television interview when they accused an unnamed senior royal of racism.
       
The palace is bracing for more potential revelations from Harry in an 
upcoming autobiography.
      
 In April, Harry and Meghan made their first joint trip to the UK since 
emigrating, seeing the Queen in private during a flying visit.
      
 Scobie said Harry and Meghan "will not be out" on the balcony of Buckingham 
Palace alongside prominent royals on June 2 to watch the Trooping of the Colour 
and a flypast.
      
 But he said they could make a "surprise appearance" on June 5, when the 
queen may emerge onto the balcony again with family members.
      
 The queen has suffered recent health issues that could affect her 
participation in national events marking her record-breaking 70th year on the 
throne.
       
British media reported on Friday that has gone to her Scottish estate of 
Balmoral for a short break ahead of the celebrations.