As Charles deputizes for the Queen, Harry and Meghan will attend Trooping the Colour.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will join the royal family at Trooping the Colour while the Prince of Wales deputises for the Queen, who will not attend the ceremony, according to Buckingham Palace.

As Charles inspects the guardsmen and officers and takes their salute on Thursday, Harry and Meghan will have a prime vantage point with members of the monarchy from the Duke of Wellington's former office, overlooking Horse Guards Parade.

Following the ceremony, the Queen will salute the returning Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment from Buckingham Palace's balcony, along with her cousin the Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Scots Guards, before joining working royals on the balcony to watch the traditional fly-past of aircraft.

However, the Duke of York, who resigned from public life in disgrace following his US civil sex case – which he settled out of court – is not expected to join the royals.

The Sussexes are expected to join the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday for a service of thanksgiving for the Queen's 70-year reign, but their participation in Trooping is an added bonus.

They are travelling with their children, three-year-old Archie and Lilibet, who turns one on Saturday, and their visit to commemorate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee has sparked speculation that the couple will christen their daughter in the presence of the monarch.

It will be the first time the duke and duchess have brought Lilibet, who was named after the Queen, to the United Kingdom.

Charles, who normally rides in the Trooping ceremony as Colonel, Welsh Guards, will take the salute and inspect the troops of the Household Division on behalf of the Queen, and will be joined by the Duke of Cambridge, Colonel, Irish Guards, and the Princess Royal, Colonel The Blues and Royals, who are also mounted.

The Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Cambridge, Earl and Countess of Wessex, and their children Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn will travel to Trooping in the traditional carriage procession.

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

Lord Snowdon and his sister Lady Sarah Chatto, the Queen's sister Princess Margaret's children, have been invited to the ceremony and will join the royal party in the Major General's Office overlooking Horse Guards Parade.