A ‘Christmas Cuddle’ With Archie and Lilibet Isn’t Likely for King Charles, Historian Says: ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’
For all those who might be hoping for a royal family reunion over Christmas, this writer included, the odds don’t look good. A historian and royal expert doesn’t expect to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle travel to England to celebrate Christmas with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in tow.
Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet are unlikely to be at Sandringham for a royal family Christmas
Remember those cute pictures of King Charles III sitting with Prince Louis, 5, on his lap during Platinum Jubilee weekend in 2022? Something like that probably won’t be recreated with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s kids, 4-year-old Archie and 2-year-old Lilibet, come Christmas.
As Dr. Tessa Dunlop, a historian and royal expert, told the Mirror, Harry and Meghan’s actions as of late don’t indicate a royal Christmas for the Sussexes, let alone a rumored second home.
“Christmas is coming, and we want Meghan and Harry to inject the Windsor brand with a bit of Transatlantic tension,” Dunlop said. “But don’t hold your breath. Just as Harry was a no-show at Balmoral this summer, it is unlikely that he’ll grace Sandringham with his presence.”
Every year, the royal family gets together at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, for gifts, a meal, and church on Christmas morning. According to Dunlop, Christmas in the English countryside is unlikely for Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet.
“Far from buying a penthouse near London, it doesn’t even look like King Charles will get a Christmas cuddle with those absent grandchildren,” Dunlop added, referring to Archie and Lili.
2018 marked Harry and Meghan’s last Christmas with the British royal family
It’s been five years — yes, five — since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a royal Christmas. Harry and Meghan walked to church with their fellow royals, as is tradition, on Christmas Day 2018.
They arrived alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton in a moment that produced a viral photo of the foursome at the time. Later, the same event became the source of much body language analysis when tensions between the two couples became public.
That means Harry and Meghan spent only two Christmases celebrating at Sandringham, one in 2018 while Meghan was pregnant with Archie and another in 2017. By Christmas 2019, the pair were in Canada before ultimately announcing their decision to leave royal life in January 2020.
Harry and Meghan have both since opened up about the Christmases they’ve spent together, both royal and non-royal. Meghan recalled in Netflix’s Harry & Meghan that she had an “amazing” time during her first Christmas with the royal family.
Meanwhile, Harry shared a little bit about Christmas in 2020, their first after relocating to California, in his Spare memoir. It involved the royal tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve and a broken Queen Elizabeth ornament.
Prince William and Kate Middleton probably wouldn’t welcome Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lili at Christmas
Things are still … icy between Harry and Meghan and the Prince and Princess of Wales. So much so Christmas would probably be downright awkward and tense were Harry and Meghan to travel to England for the holiday with Archie and Lilibet.
Harry admitted in January 2023, while promoting Spare, that he and his older brother hadn’t communicated in some time. Meanwhile, Kate reportedly called the Windsor Castle walkabout with Harry and Meghan after Queen Elizabeth II’s death “one of the hardest things” she’s ever done due to the couples’ “ill feelings” toward each other.
With all of that in mind, royal expert Jennie Bond believes William and Kate aren’t spending much time, if any at all, thinking about Harry and Meghan. “Catherine has played the peacemaker in the past and has brought William and Harry together,” Bond said, noting it probably “comes from her own family, and their values.”
“But I think she has got to a stage whereby she has had to take a step back,” the former BBC royal correspondent continued. “Things have gone too far, and she feels upset and, quite frankly, hurt and insulted.”
“I think Catherine and William have jointly decided that they will carry on with family life and work,” James said. “And, for most of the time, they don’t think about Harry very much, and I expect vice versa.”
“I can’t see an olive branch being extended from either side any time soon,” she concluded.
