For the seventh year in a row, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be absent from the Royal Family’s Christmas celebrations. While King Charles hosts the likes of Prince William, Princess Kate and their children at Sandringham, the Sussexes will be many thousands of miles away in Montecito.
There was a time when Harry would have been surrounded by his loved ones at the big royal celebrations. He last attended in 2018, shortly after marrying Meghan, but more recently, he’s spent the festive season in sunny California.
Harry has made no secret of his desire to reunite with his father the King, and there were whispers he was hoping for a Sandringham invitation this year. But that seems highly unlikely, given his poor relations with many members of the Firm, including Prince William, and his claims that the UK is ‘too dangerous’ to visit with his family.
There was a time, however, when Meghan reportedly pushed Harry to reconcile with his family in the months building up to Christmas in 2023. The move was said to be promoted by the release of a Family Guy episode that mocked the runaway royals.
In the show, cartoon versions of the Sussexes appear poolside after protagonist Peter Griffin compares himself to the royal couple while sitting at a bar with his friends. Worried that he won’t be able to get back the money he is owed, Griffin decides that his best bet will be to take on the world just like the royals did when they announced their plans to step back from their roles as senior members of the British monarchy.
“I’ll go it alone, just like Meghan Markle and Prince Harry,” Griffin declares. The scene cuts to Harry and Meghan, who are approached by a butler who attempts to hand Harry a stack of envelopes. “Sir, your millions from Netflix for no one knows what,” he says.
The cartoon. prince responds with a wave saying “put it with the rest of them”. Suddenly an alert on Meghan’s phone sounds off causing her to announce: “Babe, time to do our daily $250,000 sponsored Instagram post for Del Taco.” The clip ends with Harry seemingly expressing some regret over leaving his privileged life in Britain as he announces, “I shouldn’t have left the made-up nonsense.”
Sources at the time claimed the episode had “cut the pair deep”, leaving them “desperate” to put things right. An insider said: “What’s hit them hardest and cuts the deepest of all is that it plays up the whole notion they’re self-entitled grifters or spoilt brats. Meghan said she won’t be humiliated like this and is desperate for a solution. They’re in full panic mode.”
The source also alleged that the Sussexes were aware of having fallen out of favour with US fans, asserting that “the tides have turned against them in America.” They claimed that while Meghan wouldn’t be “begging for anything” from the royals “after everything that’s happened,” she had been hoping that Harry could reconcile with his dad, King Charles and his older brother Prince William.
The source told Closer: “Meghan has distanced herself from the furore for months, but now she’s giving Harry an ultimatum and demanding that he do whatever it takes to fix things.”
It comes after Meghan made her return to Netflix with another edition of her lifestyle show in time for Christmas. With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration shows the Duchess create a range of festive-themed crafts and dishes – as well as give a sneak peek into her life in California with Harry.
In fact, Harry makes what appears to be his longest-ever appearance in any of the With Love, Meghan episodes, featuring for a whole two minutes near the end of the episode as she whips up a Christmas-themed salad with Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio.