Prince William, Kate Middleton Skip Queen Elizabeth’s Military Ceremony In Windsor

Prince William and Kate Middleton did not attend Queen Elizabeth II’s military ceremony in Windsor on Saturday (June 13).

Every June, the royal family marks the British monarch’s birthday with Trooping the Colour. However, this year, a small military ceremony was held in Windsor where the Queen has been staying since the lockdown instead of the usual massive parade.

On Saturday, The Royal Family account on Twitter shared photos from the scaled-back event. And while they were not able to join Queen Elizabeth, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge retweeted the post and shared some snaps of the ceremony, led by soldiers from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, on Instagram.

“To mark The Queen’s Official Birthday today, Her Majesty viewed a military ceremony in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle,” the caption read. “The ceremony was executed by soldiers from the 1st Battalion @WelshGuards, who are currently on Guard at Windsor Castle, and featured music performed by a Band of the Household Division. The Queen, the Battalion’s Colonel-in-Chief, took the Royal Salute at the ceremony.”

Back in April, royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah reported that there would be changes to the Queen’s birthday celebration due to the lockdown. According to Nikkhah, the monarch decided to cancel the 2020 Trooping the Colour and gun salute because she didn’t feel like celebrating the event due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Queen’s decision that her traditional birthday gun salutes fall silent this year for the first time in her reign due to the #coronavirus crisis, and that government buildings do not need to fly flags for her 94th birthday on Tuesday, makes our front page @thesundaytimes,” Nikkhah wrote on Twitter.

“Her Majesty was keen that no special measures were put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances,” the palace said.

According to Express, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided to skip the event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn’t make an appearance at the event as well. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently living in the United States.

Last year, Markle attended the Trooping the Colour with the rest of the royal family despite still being on maternity leave. It was her first public sighting after giving birth to son Archie Harrison in May.

While fans didn't expect to see Markle at the parade, an insider claimed that she chose to attend because it was a family event and the duchess wanted to honor the monarch.