Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will want to avoid being seated near one royal if they join the Windsors for Christmas, a royal commentator says. Victoria Arbiter was asked to imagine when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might appear alongside members of the Royal Family now they have returned to the UK.
Christmas at Sandringham
One opportunity which came up for discussion on The Sun's Royal Exclusive podcast was the royals' get together at Sandringham for Christmas. Every year, King Charles hosts the Royal Family at the private estate in Norfolk where crowds gather to see the royals as they walk to church on Christmas Day.
After a service at St Mary Magdalene Church the family return to Sandringham House for a traditional Christmas lunch.
Princess Anne's Pragmatic Nature
Ms Arbiter suggested the Sussexes would not want to be sat near Princess Anne should they accept an invitation to celebrate Christmas with the royals. The royal expert told Royal Exclusive: "It'll be interesting to see how these relations go. If I were Harry and Meghan I'm not sure I'd want to be sitting across the table from someone like Princess Anne, just yet.
"She's very pragmatic and I think she'd have been very upset about a lot of the things that were said, particularly as Prince Philip was dying and then her mother was dying."
Ms Arbiter suggested a number of "baby steps" would be required before the Duke and his wife could be welcomed back into the royal fold.
Anne's Dignified Silence
Princess Anne has long maintained a dignified silence in public after Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals. Harry wrote in his biography that it was Anne who greeted him when he arrived at Balmoral after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, suggesting a level of warmth between the Duke and his aunt.
Royal author Katie Nicholl told Hello! magazine that Anne would follow the late Queen's example by being forgiving and magnanimous.
In an interview with CBC in May 2023, the King's sister hinted at the impact of the Sussexes exit when asked about possible moves to slim down the number of working royals. She told the broadcaster: "Well, I think the 'slimmed down' was said in a day when there were a few more people around.
"It doesn't sound like a good idea from where I'm standing, I would say. I'm not quite sure what else we can do."
Anne told Vanity Fair in April 2020 that most people would argue there are downsides to having titles, adding: "So I think that was probably the right thing to do."
Strained Relations
Harry and Meghan, who are remaining as non-working royals, quit the monarchy six years ago, moving to the US from where they criticised members of the Royal Family and the monarchy. Relations have been strained since Harry criticised Prince William, Princess Catherine, King Charles and Queen Camilla in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, in a Netflix documentary and in the Duke's autobiography Spare.
The Sussexes' dramatic U-turn was revealed last week, but the pair have yet to speak publicly about their plans. Their move is not permanent but will last for an extended period. King Charles is understood to welcome the move, but there will be no "half-in, half out" deal when it comes to Harry and Meghan's status as non-working royals.
