Prince Harry will “skillfully” handle Christmas year by spending it with his own family, one royal author claims.
It comes after months of speculation over how the Sussexes will spend the festive period.
Speculation swirled around the possibility of a reunion at Sandringham this year after Harry contacted his father on his 75th birthday last month.
The Duke called him from his California home and also showed him a video of Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, singing Happy Birthday, which sources close to the Sussexes say was a “turning point”.
This led to a friend of Harry’s telling the Sunday Times the couple “would love to” spend Christmas in the UK as Charles has never been with their children Archie and Lilibet during the festive season.
However, this plan now seems to be firmly off the table after a report emerged in US Weekly suggesting that the Sussexes will spend the holidays at their Montecito mansion in California alongside Meghan Markle’s mother Doria Ragland and their friends.
“They’ll be cooking, playing games and swapping gifts,” one source told the publication. “They have a tough time trying not to spoil the kids too much.”
According to royal author Clive Irving, Harry has played his hand quite “skillfully” this year, suggesting that he doesn’t want to feed the rumour mill but instead keep a low profile with loved ones.
“Harry has got his own family now so that gives him a great deal of stability and contentment.”
It’s been five years since they last spent Christmas in the UK and a lot has happened since them.
The couple stepped down as working royals in 2020 and relocated to California where they are currently raising their two children.
A year later Harry and Meghan took part in the now-infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey, where Meghan insinuated an unnamed member of the Royal Family subjected her to racism, sparking a race row rumbles on to this day.
Relations hit an all-time low in early 2023, when Harry released his tell-all memoir Spare, which contained an unflattering portrayal of his brother, Prince William, and other senior members of the family.
It remains to be seen whether the Sussexes will patch things up with the Firm in the New Year.
There are certainly signs that the couple are now shifting their focus.
