Harry and Meghan Rule Out Royal Christmas, Planning Holiday Season with Doria Ragland
Just two months after relocating back to the United Kingdom, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are already mapping out holiday plans that will likely take them back across the Atlantic. According to recent reports, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have privately ruled out any prospect of spending Christmas at Sandringham with the British Royal Family, acknowledging that a joint gathering would simply be “too awkward”.
Instead, the couple will center their Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations entirely around Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
‘Too Awkward and Too Difficult’
Insiders close to the couple revealed that neither Harry nor Meghan expects—or is seeking—an invitation to join King Charles III and the wider royal fold for traditional festivities in Norfolk.
“They won’t be having Christmas with the Royal Family. How could that even work? They know it would be too awkward and too difficult. They also know they’re not going to be invited, and they’re not waiting for an invitation,” a friend of the couple reported via The Times.
The source added that when it comes to the holiday calendar, the Sussexes will take their cues from Doria:
“For Thanksgiving and Christmas, they will do whatever Doria wants to do. They would love her to come over to the UK and spend it with them here, but they will be wherever she wants to be.”
Royal commentator and HELLO! Royal Editor Emily Nash echoed the sentiment on the Right Royal Podcast:
“I would be very surprised if the Sussexes are around at Christmas. I think they’ll head to see Doria. I think that was always the plan.”
While Prince Archie (7) and Princess Lilibet (5) are in school in the UK during late November, making a Thanksgiving trip tricky, a return flight to their home in Montecito, California, remains the primary scenario for the extended Christmas break.
Distance Remains Despite UK Base
The pragmatic holiday outlook highlights the lingering distance between the Sussexes and the core royal family, even after the couple touched down on British soil on August 26 to establish a base in the Cotswolds.
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No Face-to-Face Meeting with the King: Despite speculation that their UK move was intended to facilitate visits with King Charles, Harry and his father have yet to meet in person, having held only a single phone conversation during Harry’s first week back.
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Continued Estrangement from William: Relations with the Prince of Wales remain completely stalled, with the brothers not on speaking terms for years.
Low-Profile Life and Independent Service
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Since settling in the Cotswolds, Meghan has concentrated on running her lifestyle enterprise, As Ever, while keeping a low public profile punctuated by occasional private outings—including country pub visits and high tea at Claridge’s with Malala Yousafzai.
Harry, meanwhile, has resumed UK-focused charity commitments:
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Presiding over the Invictus Spirit Awards and launching the INSPIRE education initiative at the Royal Naval College in London.
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Attending the annual WellChild Awards, a long-standing personal patronage.
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Delivering an address at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on online child safety.
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Spending personal downtime with maternal family, recently attending a rugby fixture alongside his cousin George McCorquodale (son of Princess Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale).
With a jam-packed autumn schedule—including their first official joint outing together in Nottingham—the Sussexes appear set to close out the year focused on their immediate family unit and American traditions.
