Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly torn over their Christmas plans this year, unable to decide whether to spend the holidays in the United Kingdom with the Windsors or the Spencers, or in California with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, an insider alleged.
If they choose to fly back to the US, it will mark the eighth year they have spent apart from Prince Harry's family at Christmas. The last time the couple spent the festive season with the royals was in 2018, when Meghan was pregnant with their first child, Archie.
Difficult decisions ahead
The source told Heatworld: “With the kids in school, they can’t keep bouncing between California and the UK whenever they feel like it, so they’ve got some difficult decisions coming up because they are not on the same page.”
It is thought that Prince Harry is slowly making amends with his father now he is back in the UK, following a brief meeting in the summer. King Charles met with Harry, Meghan and their children at Highgrove House in July, when Harry was visiting the UK to promote the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. However, it is unknown whether they have been invited to Christmas.
Family tensions remain
Prince Harry's relationship with his brother, Prince William, is still thought to be tense, which was exacerbated when Harry made claims about William in his tell-all memoir, Spare. The couple moved back to the UK at the end of August with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, after six years in California, but they are not thought to have met up with the Waleses.
In his memoir, Harry also recalled a time he was far from impressed at a gift from Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, describing her giving a biro as "cold-blooded". The British royal family has a longstanding tradition of exchanging inexpensive joke or gag gifts on Christmas Eve, rather than lavish presents.
Readers invited to vote
Some of the cheeky presents exchanged over the years include a leather toilet seat for then-Prince Charles, a grow-your-own girlfriend kit for Prince Harry, and a shower cap for the late Queen with 'ain't life a b****' emblazoned across it. Readers are invited to vote in the poll and join the discussion in the comments on whether the couple should spend Christmas with the Royal Family.
