Here’s The Real Reason Why Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Won’t Be Having Christmas With The Royal Family
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be spending Christmas in the UK with the rest of the royal family – and now we know why!
The Sussexes Snub King Charles’ Christmas Invite ‘As Relations Continue To Sour’
Back in November, it was reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had no plans to spend Christmas with the royal family, despite being personally invited to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk by King Charles III. At the time, it was believed that the reason for Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, snubbing the King’s invitation for their first Christmas without the Queen could be the anticipated fallout from the release of Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, which will be released on January 10th 2023, as well as the imminent release of their Netflix docuseries, which we now know will have an official release date of Thursday, December 8th. And it turns out that that’s exactly why the Duke and Duchess are keeping their distance!
According to The Mirror, Prince Harry and Meghan don’t want to spend Christmas with the royal family “as relations continue to sour,” and will no doubt be made even worse with the release of the Netflix docuseries and memoir. And another royal expert has hinted that the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II actually alleviates the pressure of having all the family together, while admitting that having Prince Harry and Meghan there would make things awkward and “dampen” the mood, so it’s a “huge relief” that they have declined the invitation.
“The Queen’s death means that there won’t be as much pressure to have all of the family together, which is good, because it seems Harry and Meghan won’t be present,” royal expert Angela Levin told The Sun. “I’m sure Catherine and William will be there by the King and Queen’s side for part of the holiday,” she added. “Harry and Meghan aren’t coming which I think will be a huge relief for the rest of the family. The family will want to make it a very positive day after the Queen’s death and I think the Sussexes’ presence would most certainly dampen that.”
Levin also went on to say that Prince Harry and Meghan's failed desperate attempt to delay the release of their Netflix docuseries until after Christmas was very "interesting" and spoke volumes about the things they could have said about the royal family.
"It makes me feel that they could very well attack the monarchy again and be very nasty about the King despite the fact that he lost his mother," she added, before going on to say that the Sussexes seem to "want titles" for their son Archie and daughter Lilibet, yet they don’t want them to mix "with the very people who can give them to them."
The Sussexes Still Fear For Their Existing And Future Titles
Speaking of titles, royal author Tom Bower previously said that Archie and Lilibet's titles could be in jeopardy depending on what Prince Harry writes in his memoir (and we assume by association, what he and Meghan say in their docuseries) telling The Mirror that his own title could also be taken away too in extreme circumstances!
"This book is really make or break," Bower said. "I imagine that King Charles has been warned that any retaliation won’t be pretty. All that King Charles can really do is to withhold the titles for his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet. Ultimately, I suppose, he could take away Harry and Meghan’s titles as well, but that’s pretty drastic. I don’t know what else he can do. If it is as bad as I think it is, then Harry and Meghan have gone fully rogue. The best the family can do is to break ties with them."
The Royal Family's Current Christmas Plans
This will be the first Christmas without the late Queen Elizabeth II, and also the first Christmas with King Charles III as monarch, so will there be any changes? According to reports, King Charles is going to make Christmas less formal than in previous years, with The Daily Mail hinting that the family will not gather to watch the King’s Christmas speech at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, which is perhaps the biggest change given how traditional watching the Queen's speech was.
However, the King will keep hold of some other traditions, including the traditional royal family Christmas walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate.