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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry skip Jubilee luncheon after being booed at their first royal event in years

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave a Thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral as part of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are in the UK for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Karwai Tang / Contributor / Getty Images
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aren't receiving the warmest welcome in the UK.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee festivities, which celebrate her 70 years on the British throne.

On Friday, Harry and Markle attended the national service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral as part of the celebrations. The Queen pulled out of attending the service on Thursday after feeling some "discomfort," according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

The service marks Harry and Markle's first joint public appearance with the royal family in two years following their step back as senior members of the monarchy and move to the US. They arrived in the UK with their children, Archie and Lili, on Wednesday, according to Vanity Fair.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walking up the steps of St Paul's Cathedral.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arriving for the service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral on day two of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II.  Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images

They attended Trooping the Colour on Thursday but did not greet fans on the balcony with other senior members of the royal family.

Their return to a formal royal event was seemingly not met with a positive reaction, as a video published by the New York Post shows crowds booing the duke and duchess as they leave the thanksgiving service.

The couple skipped a royal luncheon following the service, The Mirror reported.

Harry and Markle also appeared to be distant with Prince William and Kate Middleton during the event. They seemingly did not speak at the service despite being in the same room.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive for the National Service of Thanksgiving to Celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen
Harry and Markle arrive for the service of thanksgiving to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.  Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Rumors have swirled for years that there is a rift in Harry and William's relationship, and in the Sussexes' bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, Markle said Middleton made her cry during the week of her wedding.

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. 

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Samantha Grindell Pettyjohn
Samantha Grindell Pettyjohn is a Senior Lifestyle Reporter at Business Insider with more than eight years of experience in the lifestyle space.At Business Insider, Samantha's coverage focuses on unique living situations, interior design, celebrity style, and books. Her work includes features on multigenerational living and one-of-a-kind houses, timely articles on celebrity fashion, live coverage of award shows and pageants, and fun pieces about popular book series. Samantha also loves reporting on celebrities on her beats, from HGTV stars Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa to authors such as Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.Samantha appeared on Scripps News and CBS in 2022 to discuss the royal family, and in 2023, she won an Anthem Award for her work on Business Insider's package "Better Me."Samantha received her B.A. in English from Birmingham-Southern College in 2017, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She later earned her M.S. in Publishing from New York University in 2019. Samantha was previously a staff writer at Romper, and her writing has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Mic, and Oprah.com. Today, Samantha lives in Atlanta with her husband and dog.Email her at sgrindell@bjinnox.com and follow her on X.