Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Aren't at This Morning's Garter Day Celebration
This morning, several senior members of the royal family are in Windsor to celebrate Garter Day, a ceremony in honor of the Order of the Garter, the "oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain," which was established by King Edward III almost 700 years ago.
The Queen and her four children are all in attendance at the event, as are Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge. But two famous royal faces were notably missing from this morning's procession.
Despite living just a stone's throw from Windsor Castle the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not there to participate in the festivities.
Meghan is currently on maternity leave following the birth of her son Archie-she's expected to take three months off from public duties-but even if she weren't, she still almost certainly wouldn't have been in attendance.
That's because Prince Harry is not yet a Knight of the Order of the Garter (and neither is Meghan). As royal expert Marlene Koenig explained to Harper's Bazaar, "The Duke of Sussex is not a Knight of the Garter and will probably not be invested until his father is King."
She continued, "the Duchess of Sussex has never attended and will probably not attend until Harry is named."
Typically, royals are not appointed to the Order until they are in their 40s. For example, Princess Anne was appointed in 1994, and Prince Edward and Prince Andrew were appointed in 2006. But in 2008, Prince William was invested as the 1,000th Knight, when he was just 25-years-old, likely a nod to his future role as king.
While Prince Harry wasn't at the Garter Day processional, he was still keeping busy. Earlier today, he gave a speech at Chatham House about the importance of eliminating land mines in Angola.
Echoing his mother Princess Diana, Harry said, "Let’s not forget, land mines are a humanitarian issue not a political one."
('You Might Also Like',)
