Royal correspondent claims the Queen 'isn't into babies' as Meghan and Harry set to attend first joint royal engagement since announcement

Sussexes are expected to attend tonight's annual Endeavour Fund Awards in London

With the Duke and Duchess of Sussex set to officially step back from the royal family at the end of the month, Meghan Markle is set to return to the UK to join Prince Harry in undertaking their final royal engagements.

On Thursday, 5 March, Harry and Meghan are expected to attend their first joint official engagement since their unprecedented announcement, at the annual Endeavour Fund Awards in London, where the duke is expected to give a speech before handing out awards.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be in the United Kingdom regularly,” a spokesperson for the couple said last month.

The couple’s 10-month-old son Archie, who has not been in the UK at all in 2020, will not be in attendance, according to The Sunday Times, which the outlet reported the Queen is “very sad” about.

However, NBC’s international correspondent Keir Simmons questioned whether that was true during a segment on the Today show, where he claimed the 93-year-old monarch “isn’t big into babies”.

“Some of the British press are trying to paint Meghan and Harry’s decision not to bring baby Archie here to the UK as disappointing for the Queen,” Simmons said. “I’ve got to tell you guys, I think that is very unlikely. Anyone who knows the biography of the Queen will know that she really isn’t that into babies.

“I can almost guarantee she is not complaining that she isn’t seeing Archie right now.”

The comment caused shocked reactions from hosts Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie, who questioned whether they’d heard Simmons correctly from the show’s New York studio.

“Now I’ve been up all night but I feel like you just said the Queen doesn’t like babies,” Guthrie said. “Is that what you said?”

In response, Simmons reiterated that the Queen is “not big into babies”.

“I promise you,” he added.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met Archie, their eighth great-grandchild in May at Windsor Castle. Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland was also in attendance.

This is not the first time the couple has left their son in Canada, where they are spending the majority of their time. In January, Meghan and Harry made an appearance at Canada House in London, before announcing their decision to step back from the royal family the following day.

Over the next few days, the duke and duchess are also expected to make an appearance at the Mountbatten Music Festival on 7 March, before Meghan marks International Women’s Day with a special event on 8 March.

For the Sussexes final royal engagement, they will join the Queen and other members of the royal family at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on 9 March.