Harry & Meghan snub royal Christmas
Eyebrows have been raised over Harry and Meghan’s decision to spend Archie’s first Christmas away from the royals
CHRISTMAS. It’s a time to munch mince pies, pull crackers and open presents around a tinselly tree. And no one loves being surrounded by her extended family at this time of year more than the 93-year-old matriarch of the world’s most famous family. Except this year a certain rather tricky trio will be missing from the table when the queen tucks into the turkey with her nearest and dearest. Harry and Meghan have turned down their invitation to Sandringham, the sprawling country estate to which the queen retreats for the festive season – and it’s being perceived as a right royal snub. Royal experts are calling this yet another nail in the coffin of relations between the prince and the family he once fitted into so seamlessly. Considering the tension, they say Harry should’ve bitten the bullet and said yes to his grandmother. He and Meghan may have shown signs of family loyalty recently, such as when Prince Charles turned 71 and they posted a previously unseen picture of father, son and grandson at Archie’s christening. “Happy birthday to his royal highness
– Sir, Pa Grandpa!” they wrote on Instagram.
But it did little to silence the critics. A show of togetherness at Christmas would’ve made the world of difference to a couple dogged controversies. Instead, the duke and his wife insist on pulling away – and each time, the crisis deepens.
GOING IT ALONE Harry was just three months old when his parents took him to Sandringham for his first Christmas and he has spent every festive season there since, except for 2012 when he was on a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
But this year, the Sussexes have chosen to spend Archie’s first Christmas with Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland, at their newly renovated home, Frogmore Cottage, in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Mid-November marked the start of the couple’s six-week “time out” period – an extended break from royal duties after what’s been an eventful year: the arrival of Archie in May; a move to their new home; breaking away from the foundation they shared with William and Kate to form one of their own; a successful tour of Southern Africa; an announcement that they’ll be suing tabloid media for invasion of privacy . . . the list goes on and on.
Yoga instructor Doria features heavily in Harry and Meghan’s year-end plans – something Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month,” a statement recently released by the palace said.
“Having spent the past two Christmases at Sandringham, their royal highnesses will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the duchess’ mother. This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the royal family, and has the support of her majesty the queen.”
It’s believed Doria and Meghan intend to spend the US holiday of Thanksgiving at a homeless shelter near Windsor, cooking and serving traditional roast turkey and pumpkin pie to the needy.
But while no one begrudges them a break – or Meghan spending quality time with her mom – it’s seen as bad form that they won’t be at Sandringham at Christmas.
“It’s very hard to see this as anything other than a snub to the queen and the
rest of the royal family,” says Phil Dampier, author of Royally Suited: Harry and Meghan. “If Harry and Meghan wanted to heal the divisions, they should’ve turned up at Sandringham. It’s a great shame but there seems to be a problem which is getting worse, not better.”
SENSITIVE TIMES
Could Harry (35) be missing his last chance to spend Christmas with both his grandparents? Royal insiders say Queen Elizabeth will be “acutely aware” that time is of the essence when it comes to opportunities for her family to be together and must privately wonder whether Harry will come to rue his decision to stay away. “Harry and Meghan’s absence will be a matter of profound regret,” royal expert Richard Kay writes in the Daily Mail. “No one will miss him more than the Duke of Edinburgh. He’ll be 99 next year and hasn’t been in the best of health recently.” Harry and Meghan’s decision to spend Christmas away follows their unexpected absence from Balmoral in the summer when they were expected to join the queen for a long weekend – but then apparently changed their minds. It was hinted they weren’t keen to take baby Archie on such a long trip but this argument rang hollow when it emerged the couple flew to Ibiza in August with their son and then to Elton John’s holiday home in southern France.
Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine, says perhaps Meghan and Archie don’t want to go to Sandringham as it can be “quite stressful” around Christmas time and might be a bit much for sevenmonth-old Archie.
“Having said that, Sandringham has played host to many, many children through the ages and is well set up for them,” she adds. What’s more, if Meghan wanted to spend Christmas with her mom, she could’ve brought her to Sandringham too.
“The queen would’ve been thrilled to invite her,” Kay says.
“Of course there’ll be sympathy for a relatively young couple determined to carve their own role away from royal protocol. But many more will reserve their compassion for the queen. At 93, doesn’t she deserve better?”
Seward agrees. “I think it’s sad they don’t want to be part of the family gathering, particularly now the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are in their dotage.
“The queen might be a little hurt but she’s far too gracious to ever let it show or be known.”
She added it didn’t seem to be anything to do with Archie “and everything to do with their own personal feelings”.
EVEN DIANA STUCK IT OUT
Family unity over Christmas has always been important to the royals. Even in the darkest of times when there were deep rifts over Princess Diana, the Windsors managed to put their differences aside.
It meant a great deal to the queen that even after Charles and Diana separated, the princess would still make an appearance at Sandringham church on Christmas Day.
Of course, Harry and Meghan aren’t the only royals to skip a Sandringham Christmas: William and Kate have missed the celebrations at least twice since tying the knot.
The first time was in 2012, when Kate was pregnant with Prince George and she and Wills spent their holiday with the Middleton family in Berkshire.
The second time was in 2016, when Kate was pregnant with Princess Charlotte. The Cambridges again spent Christmas with Kate’s parents and were snapped attending mass with Carole and Michael Middleton and Kate’s siblings, Pippa and James.
Royal expert Victoria Arbiter says the fact Meghan and Harry aren’t going to be there at Christmas isn’t necessarily motivated by a family feud.
“There tends to be an element of surprise when a royal chooses to miss Christmas at Sandringham simply because we’re used to seeing the whole family in attendance,” she told the Daily Express.
“But in recent years the younger generation have made an effort to include their non-royal relatives in their festivities.”
She adds, “When any couple marries so begins the festive headache over who to spend Christmas with.
“But as the Sussexes have been at Sandringham for the past two years in a row, the queen will have understood their desire to spend this year with Meghan’s mother, particularly as Meghan is an only child on her mother’s side.”
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have also been known to leave Sandringham at lunchtime on Christmas Day to visit Camilla’s children and their families.
Phil Dampier remains unconvinced. “I don’t buy it’s the turn of Meghan to spend Christmas with her family,” he says. “She’s only close to her mother and they’ll see plenty of her during their six-week break.
“If they had something else lined up, like a big family Christmas with her family and it was their turn, you could understand them dropping out, rather like William and Kate sometimes spend the day with the Middletons.
“But of course Meghan is estranged from everyone in her family apart from her mother. So if they just don’t want to be with the queen and the rest of the royals it’s very telling and worrying.
“Maybe they’ll have time to reflect on their problems in the coming weeks and hopefully realise that thinking of themselves as victims and outsiders isn’t helping anyone.
“All families have their tensions at Christmas, of course, but this one is played out before the eyes of the world.”
QUEEN OF DIPLOMACY
It’s understood that Queen Elizabeth is doing all she can to reunite her clan.
She’s believed to be very worried about the Sussexes after their recent mauling in the media and the fragility they exhibited in the documentary released after their African tour. Harry spoke of his concerns for his mental health and Meghan was candid about how difficult she’d found becoming a royal.
Courtiers have revealed when the queen is in residence at Windsor Castle she often drives around to see the couple at Frogmore Cottage to counsel them and show moral support.
“The duke and duchess see a lot of the queen,” an aide says. “That’s why they didn’t go to Scotland this summer and why the queen is supportive of their decision about Christmas.”
Dickie Arbiter, former press secretary to the queen, told Nine News Australia he thinks “the queen is letting Harry get on with it. She’s very pragmatic and certainly understands that Harry’s got mental health issues and they need to sort it out.
“But she’s not heavy with any of the grandchildren and lets them get on with it.”