Queen invites Meghan and Harry home for Christmas
THE Queen has sought to avoid any simmering tensions between the Dukes and Duchesses of Sussex and Cambridge by inviting Harry and Meghan to stay with her at Sandringham House this Christmas.
William and Kate and their children will remain three miles away at Anmer Hall, where Harry and Meghan stayed for the festivities last year.
The invitation to stay in the “big house” with other relatives reflects the upgrade in Meghan’s status.
Last Christmas, William and Kate invited the 37-year-old former American actress and Harry, 34, to stay with them at Anmer Hall as a way of allowing Meghan to enjoy Christmas with her soon-to-be in-laws.
The invite also meant there was no breaking of the Queen’s rule that only those already married into the family get to stay in the big house on the 20,000-acre royal estate in Norfolk.
Friends of both couples have insisted that there has been no major bust-up but acknowledge that the two “very different” sistersin-law are unlikely ever to be best friends.
Kensington Palace has declined to comment on reports of tensions but royal sources have firmly denied claims Kate admonished Meghan for speaking harshly to her staff.
The two couples are expected to attend church together on Christmas Day, but the Queen’s invitation to the Sussexes means they will be apart for much of the day.
There has been speculation that the Queen has been trying to offer advice to both couples, particularly after the Duchess of Cambridge was spotted arriving alone at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
It is unclear whether that happened but one source said: “The Queen is fond of Meghan. Meghan and Harry went over to Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen last week.”
News that Harry and Meghan plan to move to Frogmore Cottage at Windsor has sparked reports over tensions between the two couples.
However, sources close to the Sussexes insisted they had been looking to stay at Kensington Palace and had only belatedly hit on the idea of moving to Windsor after finding nothing suitable inside “KP”.
Meghan is expected to announce new charity patronages in January or February. She met the National Theatre’s artistic director Rufus Norris at Kensington Palace on Wednesday, prompting speculation the theatre might be one of her first patronages.
Her office would only say she had met many organisations in the past year in her efforts to get to know her new country.