Harry and Meghan will not join Queen's procession for Commonwealth Service
9 March 2020, 10:15
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be part of the Queen's procession through Westminster Abbey at the start of the Commonwealth Service today.
Harry and Meghan will take part in their final Royal engagement later on Monday, but the pair will be conducted to their seats rather than waiting for the Queen's arrival and walking through the church with the monarch as they did last year.
The procession includes the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, clergy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, among others, according to the Order of Service.
Last year, Harry and Meghan waited alongside William, Kate, Charles and Camilla for the Queen to arrive, before taking part in "The Procession of The Queen".
The Sussexes will arrive after the Earl and Countess of Wessex, who will also be escorted to their seats.
From March 31, the monarch's grandson and Meghan will no longer use their HRH styles as they pursue a new life of personal and financial freedom, mostly in North America.
The couple want to "collectively make a change in the armed forces arena" and will make the military central to their charitable work in their new lives, a source told the Daily Mirror.
It reports that issues such as medical care and homelessness for veterans and injured service personnel, both in the UK and the United States, are to be a focus of their new charitable organisation.
Aides have said the couple, who are retaining Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, will be in the UK regularly.
But this final official appearance is a poignant milestone as they prepare to embark on their future away from the royal family.
On March 31, Meghan will bow out of royal life just one year, 10 months and 12 days - or 682 days - after marrying into the family.
She spent almost five years longer appearing on screen in the US drama Suits.
