Many viewers tuning into the Queen's Platinum Jubilee service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday, June 3 may have been very surprised to see Prince William and Prince Harry not sat anywhere near each other. Fans had been eagerly awaiting the public reuniting of the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex.
But, as the Mirror reports, the couples were on opposite sides of the cathedral, as Kate and William sat in the front row with Prince Charles and Camilla, while Harry and Meghan were beside their cousins Princess Eugenie and Beatrice and husbands Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank. But before Kate and William took their seats, royal expert Richard Kay claimed Prince Harry will have faced a "painful 19 minutes".
Writing for the Mail, he claimed that the seating arrangement showed the "public reality of Harry's slide down the royal pecking order, branding Charles, Camilla, William and Kate the "real stars of the show". "As non-working royals, they are now very much in the second division," he said.
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"And although spared the indignity of sharing the coach that brought a clutch of minor royals who similarly do not do official duties, such as Princess Michael of Kent's son Lord Frederick Windsor, they were only just behind them." Kay continued: "It was a painful 19 minutes before William and Kate arrived to take their seats.
"If the reality of his new life had escaped Prince Harry thus far, it must surely have sunk in then." The brothers have not yet been seen together during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
However, some speculated that Kate Middleton's outfit for the thanksgiving service was a subtle nod to Harry and Meghan. The Duchess of Cambridge looked stunning in a yellow Emilia Wickstead dress and matching Philip Treacy hat.
Treacy is said to be one of Meghan Markle's favourite designers and Kate also notably wore a very similar design at Harry and Meghan's wedding back in 2018.
