Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could reportedly return to the UK for the Queen's birthday in June

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could reunite with the royal family at the Queen's birthday celebrations in June.
• Royal aides told The Sunday Times that the scale of the event will be adapted to adhere to the government's social distancing restrictions in place at the time.
• Another aide said Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could be expected to return for the event since it is a "family occasion."
• Harry previously spoke about plans to return to the UK in 2021, and said he "would have been back already had it not been for COVID."

Plans are reportedly being put in place for the Queen's 95th birthday celebrations in June, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expected to attend.

The Sunday Times reports that the monarch is determined to "get back to business" with Trooping the Colour, an annual parade held every summer at Buckingham Palace in honor of her birthday.

The parade, which usually consists of 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians at Buckingham Palace, will likely be scaled down to adhere to any social distancing restrictions that will be in force in June, when it is due to take place. Last year's event was replaced with a socially distanced military ceremony at Windsor Castle. It was attended by no members of the royal family apart from the Queen.

Royal aides told The Sunday Times that Trooping the Colour is both an official and "family occasion," and therefore the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be expected to attend.

A senior royal aide told the publication: "The current plan is for the Queen's birthday parade to go ahead in London as normal, with the acceptance that it may need to be adapted or scaled back depending on what guidelines are in force at the time. But the aspiration and the ultimate desire is to make it happen."

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If Harry and Markle are able to attend the event on June 12, it also means they will likely be there to celebrate Prince Philip's 100th birthday on June 10.

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Buckingham Palace declined to comment when contacted by Insider. The Sussexes bought their first home together in Santa Barbara, California back in August. They haven't returned to the UK since they resigned from royal duties in March 2020 due to travel restrictions put in place amid the coronavirus pandemic.

England is currently in national lockdown, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing last week that the country's stay at home order would be in place until at least mid-February.

Harry and Markle are yet to announce official plans to reunite with the royal family when restrictions ease. However, the duke previously said he hopes to return to the UK in 2021.

"We've got a whole Rugby League World Cup coming next year, so I definitely plan on coming back. I would have been back already had it not been for COVID," Harry said during a video call with the Rugby Football League back in August.

• Read more:
• Prince Harry says he will return to the UK in 2021
• 10 photos show how the Queen's socially distanced birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle compares to previous years
• Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip receive COVID-19 vaccinations at Windsor Castle