Prince Harry and Meghan arrive in the UK for platinum jubilee celebrations

Buckingham Palace confirms couple will attend Trooping the Colour on Thursday

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attend the opening of the Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, in April. AP

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrived in the UK on Wednesday evening and are set to join the royal family at Trooping the Colour, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

The palace also announced that Prince Charles will deputise for Queen Elizabeth II, who will not take part in the ceremony.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have a prime vantage point alongside members of the royal family from the Duke of Wellington’s former office, overlooking Horse Guards Parade, as they watch the Prince of Wales inspect the guardsmen and officers and take their salute on Thursday.

Following the ceremony, the queen will appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to acknowledge the salute of the returning Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

She will be joined by her cousin, the Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Scots Guards, before later joining working royals on the balcony to watch the traditional flypast of aircraft.

But Prince Andrew, who left public duties in disgrace after his US civil sex case, which he settled out of court, is not expected to join the royal family.

The Sussexes are expected to join the congregation for Friday’s service of thanksgiving for the queen’s 70-year reign at St Paul’s Cathedral, but their participation with the Trooping ceremony is an added element.

They are travelling with their children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, who turns 1 on Saturday, and their visit to mark the queen’s platinum jubilee has sparked rumours the couple will have their daughter christened with the monarch present.

It will be the first time the couple will have brought Lilibet, who was named in honour of the queen, to the UK.

Prince Charles, who normally takes part in the Trooping ceremony on horseback in his role as Colonel of the Welsh Guards, will be joined by the Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, and the Princess Royal, Colonel of the The Blues and Royals, who will also be mounted.

Members of the royal family travelling to the Trooping ceremony in the traditional carriage procession include Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence will also arrive at Horse Guards Parade in a horse-drawn carriage.

Lord Snowdon and his sister, Lady Sarah Chatto, children of the queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, have been invited to the event with their families and will join the royal party in the Major General’s Office overlooking Horse Guards Parade.