Why Kate Middleton, Prince William Didn't Sit Next To Harry, Meghan At Thanksgiving Service

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry weren't seated next to Kate Middleton and Prince William at Queen Elizabeth II‘s Service of Thanksgiving during her Platinum Jubilee for a reason, a report says.

The two couples not only arrived separately, but they also sat on opposite sides of the aisle during the service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London Friday.

"Senior members of the royal family were seated in the front row and non-senior members in the second row," an unnamed source told Us Weekly.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took their seats on the right side of the church upon arrival. They were seated in the same pew as Princess Anne, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Prince Harry and Markle, on the other hand, were seated across the aisle with Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice and their respective husbands, Jack Brooksbank and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

The insider claimed that it was the palace's decision to "keep them on opposite sides of [the] cathedral to avoid any unwanted attention" after the two couples were "scrutinized" during the 2020 Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey.

The March 2020 service marked Prince Harry and Markle's final official engagement as senior working royals. At the time, the two couples' interactions during the service sparked speculations that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not on good terms with Prince William and Middleton.

"Meghan actually turned her head to look in William's direction and then she looked back at the person she was talking to, and that was it. There was no interaction," body language expert Blanca Cobb told Us Weekly at the time. "She looked to see if that was him, but then she turned right back around to the person she was talking to. Meghan and William kept a distance perhaps because they are feeling some kind of distance."

On Wednesday, the Sussexes returned to the U.K. for the first time as a family of four — alongside son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 11 months — since their final royal engagement.

But an unnamed source told Page Six that Prince Harry and Prince William have no plans to interact while celebrating Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee festivities.

"At the moment, it does not look likely that Harry and Meghan and William and Kate will meet up separately during the Jubilee celebrations," the source said. "There is certainly nothing in the diary at the moment."

Weeks before attending the Jubilee, Prince Harry and Markle visited the Queen at Windsor Castle in April before heading to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games.

At the time, Prince William and Duchess Kate were not present for the reunion, an unnamed insider told Us Weekly.

"It was purely coincidental. Harry is coming back to visit soon and hopes to see William in person. They are trying to figure things out," the insider explained, noting that the Cambridges were out of town on a ski trip. "Harry and Meghan had a wonderful time seeing the Queen again. It was one of the biggest highlights of their year so far."