The Queen is Looking Forward to Seeing Archie and Lili at the Platinum Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth Meghan Markle — (Image credit: Samir Hussein / WireImage for Getty Images)

This time next week, we’ll be in the full swing of the Platinum Jubilee, celebrating the first British monarch to ever reign for 70 years.

It’ll also be another first for the Queen—her first time meeting her namesake Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, named after Her Majesty’s familial nickname. (Lili, as she is known, will turn a year old exactly one week from today, on June 4.)

And, according to reporting from Rebecca English at The Daily Mail, the Queen will welcome Prince Harry, Meghan, and their two children with open arms when they arrive in the U.K. A source told the outlet that Her Majesty wants the Jubilee to be “an occasion in which the country, including her own family, comes together” with no drama overshadowing the historic event.

The Daily Mail reports that the Sussexes will stay at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor and, though they will not be on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour, Harry and Meghan will attend the national Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, June 3. The outlet reports “it is understood the Sussexes are likely to attend at least one other public engagement—although sources have strongly warned that the public should ‘not expect them at every event.’”

The Mirror reports that there has also been suggestion that the Sussexes might sit in the VIP section to watch Trooping the Colour, though they won’t be on the balcony with the working members of the royal family.

“They will also spend time with royal family members privately, introducing the Prince of Wales to Lilibet for the first time,” The Daily Mail reports. “He has not seen Archie, three, since he was a baby. It is unclear whether the Sussexes will spend time alone with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children. William is known to have been hit hardest by his brother’s perceived betrayal.”

The Queen wants to make the Jubilee less about herself and more about the monarchy as a whole, The Daily Mail reports.

“Her Majesty is typically very keen that the Platinum Jubilee be a celebration not of herself and her own longevity, but of the institution of the monarchy and the people that support and sustain it,” an insider told The Daily Mail. “It is also a chance for people to come together after a very difficult period for this country. She doesn’t want anything to overshadow it—and that includes any family issues.”

Royal expert Duncan Larcombe said it will be interesting to see the public’s mood toward Harry and Meghan at any public appearances they might make.

“Maybe the only chance we get to see a glimpse of both [Harry and Meghan]…we can expect to see massive crowds…thousands and thousands of people that you would describe as royalists, who love the pomp and ceremony,” Larcombe says, per The Mirror. “The reality is…Harry and Meghan are very divisive characters…it will be fascinating to see the reaction and mood of the public [towards them].”

The Jubilee is set to celebrate the Queen but is truly a pro-British affair: Britons are expected to spend £3 billion over the course of next weekend, and an estimated 16,000 street parties will be held across England, The Daily Mail reports.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.