Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Do Not Attend King Charles' First Trooping the Colour as Monarch

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to California after stepping back as senior members of the royal family in 2020

King Charles' first Trooping the Colour as monarch was missing two members of the family: his son Prince Harry and his daughter-in-law Meghan Markle.

While members of the British royal family gathered in London for King Charles' public birthday celebrations and armed forces parade, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not join them.

Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, relocated to her home state of California in 2020 after stepping back as senior members of the royal family.

Although the couple attended Trooping the Colour together in 2018 (just a month after their royal wedding at Windsor Castle) and 2019 (weeks after welcoming their first child, son Prince Archie), the event was scaled down in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELATED: King Charles Is Bringing Back a Trooping the Colour Tradition Not Seen Since 1986

Meghan and Harry returned to the United Kingdom in June 2022 — for the first time with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet — for Trooping the Colour, which kicked off a four-day celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, marking her historic 70-year reign. They did not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the flypast, which was limited to only working members of the family and their children last year. Instead, they watched the event from the Major General's Office, which overlooks the Horse Guards Parade, with extended members of the family.

This year, King Charles seemed to follow his mother's approach from the previous year and limit the balcony appearance to only working members of the family as well as his three U.K.-based grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Even Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's two children — Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex — did not join their parents this year despite appearing at both last year's Trooping the Colour and May's coronation balcony appearances.

RELATED: Royal Family's Best Trooping the Colour Moments Over the Years — Including Prince Harry's Cheeky Face!

The June 2022 visit marked Princess Lili's first time visiting her dad's home country, as she was born in California the previous year. During the U.K. visit, Prince Harry and Meghan marked their daughter's first birthday with a backyard party at Frogmore Cottage.

Prince Harry has made several solo visits to the U.K. in recent months. In March, he made a surprise appearance at court in London to hear a legal case in which he and other prominent figures — including Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Jude Law's ex-wife Sadie Frost — are suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for illegal information gathering. It marked his first time in the U.K. since the funeral of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth in September, which Meghan also attended.

The Duke of Sussex traveled to London again in May to attend his father King Charles' coronation. However, it was a quick trip — shortly after the crowning ceremony, Harry headed to the airport to catch a flight back to California. The coronation on May 6 took place on his son's fourth birthday.

Harry was back again in early June when he appeared at the High Court of the Royal Courts of Justice in London to testify against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering. He underwent a day and a half of cross-examination over the claim, which he launched in 2019.

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Despite ongoing tensions, Prince Harry told PEOPLE earlier this year that he wants his two children to have meaningful relationships with members of his family.

"I've said before that I've wanted a family, not an institution—so of course, I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family, and they do with some, which brings me great joy," he said in an exclusive PEOPLE cover story surrounding the release of his memoir, Spare.

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