Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Elton John all pull out of event honoring Princess Diana

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, will not be attending a memorial event in honor of those who helped create the Princess Diana memorial statue.

• July 1, 2021, marked what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday.
• To mark the special occasion, Prince Harry and Prince William unveiled a Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace.
• In other royal news, New photos of the Queen using a walking stick spark praise from impressed royal fans.

A source close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, have revealed that the royal couple will not be in attendance at a royal event that is set to honor the late Princess Diana next week.

Earlier this year, Prince Harry and Prince William unveiled a statue of Princess Diana in the Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace. Ahead of the statue unveiling, the Sunken Garden was filled with 4,000 flowers and Prince Harry traveled all the way from the US to be at the event in London.

At the time the brothers released a joint statement that read, "Today, on what would have been our Mother’s 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength, and character—qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better."

"Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy."

"Thank you to Ian Rank-Broadley, Pip Morrison and their teams for their outstanding work, to the friends and donors who helped make this happen, and to all those around the world who keep our mother’s memory alive."

Now a new event has been scheduled for October 19, 2021, at Kensington Palace to honor the donors and other individuals who made the Princess Diana memorial statue possible.

Included on the guest list is Elton John, who was a close friend of Princess Diana's during her lifetime. However, the star has recently had to pull out of the event because of hip surgery.

A source close to the star revealed to The Sun that the rock icon has decided to spend time resting as he recovers. “Elton underwent hip replacement surgery at the start of the month. It went well and he is on the mend but is taking things slow,“ said the source.

Meghan Markle was unable to attend the statue unveiling and will not be attending this second event in honor of Princess Diana. 

In July 2021, Meghan Markle had just given birth to the couple's second child, a daughter who they named after the Queen, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten Windsor. As Meghan was only one month postpartum, the Duchess and their two children stayed in the US.

Similarly, Prince William's wife, Kate Middleton did not attend this prestigious event, but it is thought that she will be attending the second event on October 19 as she currently lives in Kensington Castle with her family.

Princess Diana's siblings all showed up to support their sister's memory at the statue unveiling and it is thought that many of them will be in attendance at this second event. 

Some experts claimed that the attendance of Diana's siblings at these events demonstrates, ‘the Spencer generation taking over.’