Real reason Meghan Markle never joined the Royal Family at Easter revealed

never joined during their Easter celebrations in Windsor for one major reason. In 2019, which was the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's final year as working members of the Royal Family, Prince Harry made a solo appearance at the Easter Sunday service.

The Duke, 40, stepped out alongside other members of the Royal Family, such as the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (now the Prince and Princess of Wales) - but was nowhere to be seen. The was down to the fact that she was heavily pregnant with their first child at the time of the service in April 2019.

Just a few weeks later - on May 6 - . The couple then made the decision to step down as working royals in early 2020 - before moving to the US just a few weeks later.

The previous year - just weeks before they tied the knot in Windsor - both Harry and Meghan were absent from the Easter celebrations.

According to , the reason behind the couple's decision to skip the Easter Sunday service in 2018 was simply because they wanted to celebrate the annual holiday in private.

The service is reportedly optional for the royals, and the pair wanted to take a break from the public eye at the time.

The 2018 service would have been Meghan's first time celebrating with the Royal Family. Although their relationship was made public in 2017, Meghan and Harry began dating the previous year.

The Easter Sunday service - but resumed as scheduled in April 2022.

Having lived in California for the past five years, Harry and Meghan did not attend the service in 2022, 2023 or 2024.

With their parents not travelling back to the UK for the annual holiday, their two children - Prince Archie, five, and three-year-old Princess Lilibet - have not spent Easter with their royal relatives.