Prince Harry will not attend the Remembrance Sunday service next month

Prince Harry will not be joining the Royals for this year’s Remembrance Sunday service.

Members of the Royal Family and dignitaries will attend the Cenotaph next month to lay wreaths to remember the fallen in an event which has been scaled down due to coronavirus.

It is expected that Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Anne will lay wreaths while the Queen, Kate and Camilla will line up on the Foreign Office balcony. 

Palace sources have said that Prince Harry will not be able to attend Remembrance Sunday service in an official capacity as part of the Royal Family as he is no longer a ‘working royal’

Members of the military are joined by dignitaries and thousands of members of the public to mark Remembrance Sunday last year but this year the event will be closed to the public

Members of the military are joined by dignitaries and thousands of members of the public to mark Remembrance Sunday last year but this year the event will be closed to the public 

The Cenotaph was guarded by police in June earlier this year and is celebrating 100 years

The Cenotaph was guarded by police in June earlier this year and is celebrating 100 years

But palace sources have told the Sun as he is ‘no longer a working royal’ he ‘cannot join his family at the Cenotaph’.

The traditional 11am service in London which is usually attended by thousands of people lining the streets will this year only allow a limited number of people to attend. 

But the legion’s previous hopes to still be able to hold the service with the famous military march with restrictive measures, have been dashed.

Some veterans will be invited to attend the service, which will be made Covid-secure.

It will be the first time in the Cenotaph’s 100-year history when the poignant tribute to all those who’ve died in war will be closed off. 

Other services across the country are also being scaled back, in light of the second wave of the pandemic.

Many expected Harry to attend the service because of his military background. 

But the source told the Sun: ‘He would be able to attend in his capacity as a former soldier who served his country well in Afghanistan.

‘He won’t be able to attend in a royal capacity as he is no longer a working royal.’ 

Many anticipated Prince Harry would attend in recognition of his service in the military. Pictured: Prince Harry salutes as the Last Post is played as he joins British troops in Afghanistan for a Remembrance Sunday service at Kandahar Airfield in November 2014

Many anticipated Prince Harry would attend in recognition of his service in the military. Pictured: Prince Harry salutes as the Last Post is played as he joins British troops in Afghanistan for a Remembrance Sunday service at Kandahar Airfield in November 2014

Around 10,000 people usually gather at the Cenotaph each year for the National Service of Remembrance and the two minute silence at 11 AM.

This year, for the first time in history, the event will be closed to members of the public in line with the latest expert medical and scientific advice. 

A century of Cenotaph

The Cenotaph was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens and this year is the 100th birthday of the monument.

It replaced an earlier wood-and-plaster structure that had been out up at the end of WWI.

It is the site of the annual National Service of Rembrance, held at 11am on the nearest Sunday to November 11.

It usually sees thousands of members of the public mass in London to pay their respects to heroes felled defending freedom.

The Government has urged the public to remember all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice by coming together for a national moment of silence at 11am as the service is broadcast nationwide on BBC One, Sky and ITV.

Advice has been provided for councils in England on how to ensure that those hosting local Remembrance events can do so safely.

Measures include reducing numbers, focusing attendance on those wishing to lay wreaths, and observing social distancing at all times.

All gatherings involving more than 6 people will need to be organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body, the Government has said. 

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: ‘This Remembrance Sunday has a particular significance as it marks one hundred years since the Cenotaph was installed.

‘Whilst we will mark this occasion properly, it is with a heavy heart that I must ask people not to attend the ceremony at the Cenotaph this year in order to keep veterans and the public safe.

‘We will ensure our plans for the day are a fitting tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and that our veterans are at the heart of the service – with the nation able to watch safely from home.’

The Queen is said to have been determined to be at the service and said she would return ‘come hell or high water’.

During the pandemic she had been unable to take part in events such as Trooping the Colour, and Maundy Thursday, along with Palace garden parties.

Reports suggest Harry is expected to get a 'telling off' from the Queen on his return to the UK

Reports suggest Harry is expected to get a ‘telling off’ from the Queen on his return to the UK

She continued to hold weekly calls with the Prime Minister, and did hold a socially-distance birthday party.

Her Majesty also stepped out to give NHS fundraising hero Captain Tom Moore a knighthood, and to attend Princess Beatrice’s wedding.

Earlier this month, it was reported Prince Harry could face a scolding by the Queen amid concerns over his public comments about US politics as royal staff prepare for him to return to the UK.

It is thought that Palace staff have been told to ready Frogmore Cottage for the imminent return of the duke – without mention of Meghan Markle.

The Queen, 94, is likely to meet with Harry at her ‘HMS Bubble’ at Windsor after she returned in order to resume audiences and small engagements. 

But his alleged visit comes after royal experts warned that Harry had been ‘burnt significant bridges beyond repair’ after he spoke out about the upcoming American election.