It’s an issue that affects most couples as the festive season rolls around: whose family gets them on Christmas Day? Throw some grandchildren into the mix – plus elderly relatives facing uncertainty over just how many more Christmases they’ll have – and the conflict becomes all the more problematic.
But in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s case, the question goes from dicey to disastrous. After all, up until recently, they were firmly on the same page. Having blown up their last remaining ties to the palace with incendiary bombshells and complaints – and with no love lost from the other side – the idea that they’d ever spend another festive season with Harry’s family was beyond the pale. To that end, they’ve spent the past five years having low-key Christmases at their home in Montecito, California with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, and their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
Still, a lot can change in a year – and this one has been seismic for the Sussexes. As heat has told you, Harry was knocked for six earlier this year by the double whammy shock of his father, King Charles, and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton’s respective cancer diagnoses. By all accounts, he was even more shocked that – while the former told him directly over the phone, he only learnt about Kate’s cancer battle when news broke worldwide. He’s since made concerted efforts to reingratiate himself into the royal fold, to little success, and repair some of the damage made by his and Meghan’s controversial departure from royal life.
Insiders have reported his regrets and sadness over how things have unfolded, and his increased visits to the UK over the past few months, ostensibly for business, attest to the fact he’s quietly attempting to repair. And so, according to sources, he’s hoping that a reunion at Christmas this year might just herald a peace deal for the warring factions.
‘It’s been nearly six years since Harry spent Christmas with his family – he can’t help but feel sad about that,’ says an insider close to the Duke of Sussex, whose royal childhood was shaped by large Christmases with extended family at the royals’ Norfolk retreat, Sandringham, and summers at their Scottish residence of Balmoral.
‘On a personal level, the memories of his family Christmases are very nostalgic for him, and he’s quietly optimistic that, this year, he’s going to get an invite. If it does indeed happen, it’s going to put him in a very difficult situation, because it’s going to be a hard one for him to turn down, especially if he wants to keep working towards a peace deal with his family.’
But then there’s Meghan, who not only never wants to return to the UK, but also knows that the feeling is mutual. The last time she was on British soil – fleetingly – was for the late Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022, and it’s fair to say she had no choice in the matter. Since then, insiders have said she sees no reason to ever come back to a place that, she feels, holds so much hostility towards her, and Harry himself has doubled down on that fact, claiming he’s too worried about their lack of police protection to bring Meghan and the kids here.
He’s currently still pressing ahead with his legal battle against the Home Office over their decision to deny his family taxpayer-funded security, claiming he fears Meghan could be targeted by a ‘knife or acid’ attack, but the fact remains that, even if she were granted more protection, reingratiating her into the royal fold would be an insurmountable challenge. Not only has she made it clear that she doesn’t feel welcome, but the Sussexes’ allegations against the palace – that they treated Meghan unkindly and didn’t offer her support when she was mentally struggling with the pressures of royal life – suggest there’s no going back.
Of course, there is the option for Harry and Meghan to spend their first Christmas apart since getting together. The way things are looking for the Sussexes, it certainly seems more feasible than ever, as it hasn’t escaped anyone’s attention that – having been inseparable in their personal and work lives for years – they’ve started embarking on more and more solo work.
Over the past few months, Harry has undertaken several trips to the UK (for both the memorial service for his late uncle, Lord Robert Fellows, and the WellChild awards), plus visits to New York, to attend a number of public engagements, and to Lesotho and South Africa with his charity Sentebale, which he co-founded with his friend, Prince Seesio of Lesotho. Meanwhile, while Meghan has stayed at home with the children in California, she’s also undertaken some more public-facing solo work, most recently attending the LA Children’s Hospital gala last week.
Insiders say this is all part of a new strategy to separate their working lives, in a bid to undo some of the negative publicity they’ve received over the past few years and win back public favour. But there’s a big difference between undertaking solo work and celebrating the holidays separately. And naturally the last thing the Sussexes want is to fuel even more rumours that they’re living increasingly separate – and fractured – lives. So, the question is, where do they stand on Christmas Day?
For the moment, we’re told, they’re not making any decisions, and are simply keeping all options open. But while it would naturally be a difficult decision for Harry, it seems clear that he would ultimately make the choice to stick by his wife and children and continue to spend the holidays in his new home in California – turning down any invitations that may come his way.
‘As sad as it is to consider, this may be one of his father’s last Christmases’, our source explains. ‘But it’s the same old tug-of-war because Meghan wouldn’t dream of going, which means he’s going to have a very difficult decision to make if he gets the invite he’s hoping for. It’s going to put Harry in a very, very tough spot.’