Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not join Queen Elizabeth for Christmas, according to a report.
Royal Family traditionally spends Christmas and New Year at Sandringham House; however, due to COVID-19, Queen Elizabeth spent the last festive holiday in Buckingham Palace with her late husband, Prince Phillip.
However, the upcoming Christmas will be the first without the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9, 2021, at age 99.
Queen Elizabeth recently canceled several scheduled events due to a health scare that led to hospitalization.
According to the Royal Family’s social media, The Queen has returned to duty, revealing that the 95-year-old head of state received a guest.
“The Queen today received General Sir Nick Carter for an Audience at Windsor Castle upon the relinquishment of his appointment as Chief of the Defence Staff,” the caption to the Instagram photo revealed.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly shun Christman invite
According to a Page Six report, Harry and Meghan were invited to the traditional royal family Christmas event but will not attend.
“There’s a lot that goes into the logistics and the planning of the family Christmas, so of course, staff know that Harry and Meghan are not coming,” one royal source told the publication.
They added, “If they were, they would have communicated it to their family by now. But this is Her Majesty’s first Christmas without her husband, so one would have hoped they would want to be with her.”
It appears the couple doesn’t want to cause a media storm if they were to return to the United Kingdom for Christmas.
In January 2020, the couple stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family and currently reside in Montecito, California.
Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, their children, and other Royal Family members are expected to attend the Christmas festivities next month.
Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth continue close relationship
Despite not attending the Royal Family Christmas, Prince Harry has reportedly mended his relationship with his grandmother.
Prince Harry returned to the UK to attend the funeral of Prince Phillip earlier this year. The 38-year-old reunited with his Queen Elizabeth as they continued to enjoy a loving relationship.
While the Duke of Sussex has not returned to the United Kingdom amid the Queen’s growing help concerns, he reportedly panicked with concern for his grandmother.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married in 2018. They have two children: Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, born in 2019, and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, who they welcomed in June this year.