Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did receive one invite to spend Christmas in the UK (Image: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
and Meghan Markle spent another Christmas in America this year, marking their sixth year spending the festive season away from the UK.
While the couple and their two children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, to spend Christmas Day with Harry’s royal relatives, they did in fact receive another invite to the UK.
This the brother of the prince’s late mum Princess Diana, who lives at Diana’s childhood home Althorp.
However, despite Harry having stayed there fairly recent on a flying visit to the UK, one royal expert said they turned this down as Meghan, 43, wanted her children to have memories of Christmas at their Montecito home, a place they have lived since quitting life as senior royals in 2020.
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward “Harry and Meghan were invited for Christmas at Althorp with thrice-married [Princess Diana’s brother] Uncle Charles, now Earl Spencer, but decided to stay in California.”
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She continued: “Meghan says it’s important for her that Archie and Lilibet can have ‘connective memories’ of Thanksgiving and Christmas at home and enjoy the traditions like putting out ‘carrots for the reindeer.”
Seward also said that while King Charles, who hosted Christmas at Sandringham for the royals, would have loved to see his grandchildren in America over the festive holidays, Harry’s fractured relationship with some Royal Family members – including – meant this did not happen.
She said: “King Charles would have loved the opportunity to see his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet, but he knew inviting Harry and Meghan would have been awkward for the rest of the family. So, there was no official invitation.”
Christmas Day marked Harry’s sixth Christmas outside of the UK, with his last festive season spent at Sandringham being in 2018 – the year he wed Meghan.
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They last spent Christmas at Sandringham in 2018 (Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Despite still being part of the Royal Family in 2019, the couple and their son Archie opted to spend Christmas overseas that year, just months before the family then stepped back from being senior royals in 2020.
It is believed Archie and Lilibet have never spent Christmas with their royal relatives at Sandringham.