Harry and Meghan arrive in California after missing Jubilee finale

The couple played a minor role in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave the Queen’s Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday 3 June 2022 (Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reported to have touched down in the US after their appearance at this weekend’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign.

According to reports, the family departed the UK on Sunday lunchtime, arriving in California at 6pm later that day.

Pictures have emerged of Prince Harry being transported from the airport in the passenger seat of a black Range Rover.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were largely absent from the festivities over the four-day weekend, but appeared at the Queen’s Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, their first public appearance in the UK since stepping down as senior royals in 2020.

The couple joined scores of other royal family members, including Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton, but were seated across the aisle from working members of the royal family.

The pair are believed to have spent much of their stay at Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate.

On Saturday, Harry and Meghan hosted a “relaxed” party at the royal residence to celebrate their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday, which is believed to have been attended by the child’s British cousins.

While royal birthdays are often accompanied by the release of official photographs marking the occasion, no such images have been published to date.

According to royal commentator Omid Scobie, co-author of Harry and Meghan’s biography Finding Freedom, the couple elected to celebrate their daughter’s special day away from the public eye.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday, Scobie said: “I think people are expecting some sort of big birthday extravagant event, that we’re going to see photographs from. From what I’m told, we shouldn’t expect anything.

“Those moments with Lilibet are very much private between them and the Queen and of course we know how much she’s been looking forward to it,” he added.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles and Camilla, and the official royal family Twitter account all marked Lilibet’s first birthday with well wishes from their social media accounts.