THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX BREAK WITH TRADITION FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR
After skipping the annual summer trip to Balmoral, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are bucking tradition and missing Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham in Norfolk.
The duke and Californian-born duchess are taking a six-week break from royal duties and are set to fly this week to the US with six-monthold Archie to spend Thanksgiving on November 30 with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
Although a spokesman for the Sussexes confirmed the news and said that Her Majesty the Queen had given her blessing, royal expert Angela Levin believes the monarch will be secretly wounded by their decision. ‘I think the Queen will be a bit hurt – of all the festivals the family is supposed to get together for, Christmas is the most important to her,’ Angela exclusively tells OK!
‘In terms of religion, the Queen is a great believer.’
Whether Harry, Meghan and Archie will be opening their Christmas presents in Doria’s Los Angeles home or at their newly renovated Frogmore Cottage in
Windsor is not yet known. Harry missed a traditional Christmas with the royals in 2012 when he was deployed on tour to Afghanistan, and Angela claims the 35-year-old prince was ‘thrilled’ to skip it because it’s so rigid and conforming’.
She adds: ‘This time I think Harry’s desperate to please Meghan. When there are families and a child to consider, you have to work out who you want to spend the holidays with.
‘Archie is Doria’s first and only grandchild so maybe that’s why they want to spend some time with her.’
Meghan revealed in the couple’s recent ITV documentary that she was struggling to adjust to life in the royal spotlight and described herself then as ‘existing’ rather than living.
‘Maybe Meghan still feels she’s existing, not living, and Harry wants to make her happy,’ says Angela.
Confirming the couple’s plans, the Sussexes’ spokesman said: ‘Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, their Royal Highnesses will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the duchess’s mother Doria
AS THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX SKIP CHRISTMAS AT SANDRINGHAM THE QUEEN IS ‘HURT’ BUT ‘ACCEPTS THEIR DECISION’
Ragland. Angela tells OK! that this caring approach is typical of the monarch.
She says: ‘What the Queen does not do is interfere in people’s marriages. She will be very worried about Harry because he’s not in a good place and she will be worried about Meghan; and if they’ve got to opt out because they’re exhausted, she will accept that.’
With the Queen’s blessing, Kate and William have also broken with tradition in the past by alternating Christmases between Sandringham and with Kate’s family, the Middletons, in Berkshire.
Christmas at Sandringham is a very traditional affair. After a stroll on December 25 to the morning service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate, the royals spend the day playing games. The pudding at Christmas lunch is served exactly an hour after the turkey and vegetables and then on Boxing Day there is a pheasant shoot. However, the regimented schedule may not suit the young duchess if she’s nursing Archie.
Defending Meghan, Angela adds: ‘She might not want to put herself through the regimentation. The other royals can’t carry on eating when the Queen is finished, nor can they go to bed before her. Meghan might not be able to cope with that.’
Ironically, before meeting her prince, Meghan’s festive routine was a lot less aspirational as she liked to ‘break family traditions’ and holiday with friends. Writing for her now defunct blog, The Tig, the Suits star told her fans: ‘Holidays with your friends allows you to break the family traditions and avoid Aunt Julie’s fruit cake!’
There are also reports that the rumoured rift between the two couples is also to blame for the Sussexes no-show.
When asked recently about his relationship with his brother, Harry said he loved William dearly, but they were ‘on different paths at the moment’ and have ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’ in their relationship.
Meanwhile, last week Harry wished his father, Prince Charles, a happy birthday with a previously unseen photo of the pair with Archie. Harry posted the image on Instagram, Charles’s 71st birthday, writing: ‘Happy birthday to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales – Sir, Pa, Grandpa!’