LONDON, June 3, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were on
Friday expected to make their first public appearance in Britain in two
years, at a Platinum Jubilee church service for Queen Elizabeth II.
But hopes the family would re-unite altogether were scuppered after his
grandmother was forced to pull out after suffering "some discomfort" at
Thursday's kick off to four days of celebrations.
The 96-year-old monarch has been dogged by difficulties standing and
walking that have forced her to cancel a slew of engagements since last year.
On Thursday, she made two public appearances on the balcony of Buckingham
Palace in central London after the Trooping the Colour military parade.
In the evening, she was at Windsor Castle for a ceremony to light beacons
across the country and the Commonwealth of 54 nations that she also heads.
Her withdrawal, which the palace said she took with "great reluctance",
puts her appearance at The Derby on Saturday in doubt.
The queen has only missed the showpiece flat-racing event three times in
her 70-year reign, most recently in 2020 when spectators were barred due to
Covid.
Outside St Paul's Cathedral in London, royal fan Stephanie Stitt, 35, said
she was "a little" disappointed the queen would not be there.
- 'Lifetime of service' -
But the events manager, who was among joined tens of thousands of others
on The Mall on Thursday, told AFP: "It's understandable because she's 96."
The queen's disgraced second son Prince Andrew, sidelined from royal
duties over his links to two convicted sex offenders and absent on Thursday,
will also miss the service after testing positive for Covid.
The queen's heir, Prince Charles, 73, will again represent her as the most
senior-ranking royal, after standing in for her at the parade to take the
salute from troops on horseback.
More than 400 people will be in the congregation, including health and
social care staff to give thanks for their work during the Covid pandemic.
The Bible readings, prayers and hymns on Friday are designed to reflect on
and recognise what the palace said was the queen's "lifetime of service".
Afterwards, there will be a rare ringing of the largest church bell in the
country, the 16.5-tonne Great Paul.
The queen has received congratulations for her record-breaking reign from
around leaders world, including North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
- Harry, Meghan unpopular -
Overnight, the UK government confirmed post-Brexit plans to return the
Crown symbol to pint glasses in what it said was a "fitting tribute" to the
monarch.
It also launched a consultation to allow the sale of goods in imperial
measures after EU law gave primacy to metric.
Former British Army captain Harry and US television actress Meghan, who is
of mixed race, were once hailed as the modern face of the monarchy after they
wed in 2018.
But less than two years later they quit royal life and moved to the United
States, launching a series of damaging broadsides, including of racism.
Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, have set up a charitable foundation but angered
royal supporters for lifting the lid on royal life in a bombshell television
interview.
A recent YouGov poll indicated the couple's popularity with the British
public has slumped to an all-time low. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) hold a
negative view of them.
- 'Not about them' - "I think they should probably just stay in the
background," said surgeon Roger Nagy, 51, who flew in for the celebrations
from Denver, Colorado.
"They can do what they want with their lives but they probably should say
things. This is about the queen, this isn't about them," he added.
All eyes will be watching for signs of tension between the couple and
Harry's elder brother William, 39, and sister-in-law Kate, 40.
Harry said in an October 2019 that he and William were on "different
paths", apparently confirming a rift that opened up after he began dating
Meghan.
The pair were last seen in public at the unveiling of a statue to their
late mother princess Diana in July 2021, and at the funeral of their
grandfather, the queen's husband Prince Philip, that April.
William has been the only senior royal to publicly comment on Harry and
Meghan's racism claims, saying: "We are very much not a racist family".
Andrew's no-show avoids further controversy amid lingering public anger at
his settling of a US civil claim for sexual assault earlier this year.
His appearance at a memorial service for his father, the queen's late
husband Prince Philip, in late March, was criticised as inappropriate.