Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are “being forced to accept a downgrade” for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, a royal expert has claimed.
The pair will travel to the UK for the Jubilee later this year alongside their children Archie and Lilibet.
But they will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony after Her Majesty opted to limit those in appearance to working members of her family.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
PA
Meghan and Harry will not appear on the royal balcony
Yui Mok
And Australian journalist Daniela Elser believes it's “astounding” that the couple are willing to “sign on as supporting guest stars”.
Ms Elser added that a “more cynical mind” could think the Sussexes return to the UK is to “make nice just as the biggest royal PR event in a decade rolls around".
She continued: "This is Harry and Meghan being forced to accept a downgrade while the world watches on."
Her comments come after Sussex-friendly journalist Omid Scobie claimed Meghan and Harry never wanted to appear on the royal balcony for the celebrations.
Mr Scobie said while the pair “very keen” to be part of the celebrations, they already had reservations about the balcony appearance before it was announced.
He added: “As is often the case, the reality is much less severe when you hear that Prince Harry had already spoken with his grandmother about the possibility of not attending Trooping the Colour long before last week's announcements.
“I’m told by a source that the Duke of Sussex had actually expressed some time ago that he and Meghan were very keen to be a part of the Jubilee engagements, including the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral."
He told Yahoo: “But less so for the formal balcony moment, which was felt on both sides to be more appropriate for their lives prior to stepping back."