Festive Royal Family reunion pending.
Safe to say it’s been a pretty hectic few months for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Between the arrival of their daughter, Lilibet Diana, in June, their first official joint magazine cover, and a whistle-stop tour of New York City, we can scarcely keep up with the Sussex household these days – let alone try to predict what the royal family of four might be getting up to come Christmas.
Or can we?
Because a royal expert has just predicted that Harry and Meghan are set to spend this coming Christmas in the UK, in a bid to heal the ongoing “royal rift” that was caused by Harry’s decision to renounce royal life. And it actually sounds totally plausible.
Speaking to Closer, Katie Nicholl, Vanity Fair royal editor and author of Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss, and Love claimed that the couple are considering bringing baby Lilibet and little Archie to the UK for the festive season, saying, “Christmas is being looked at as an opportunity. There may be a softening, which could pave the way for a healing of the family rift.”
Whether it’s the pandemic, the ongoing family in-fighting, or a combination of both (likely) that’s prevented Harry and Meghan from spending the past two Christmases in England, if Nicholl is right in her prediction, Christmas 2021 will mark a major milestone, given that Lilibet is yet to meet her extended family, and Archie hasn’t seen his grandfather and great-grandmother since early 2020.
“It’s certainly what the Queen wants. Prince Charles would like to see his grandchildren. A meet-up suggests they hope to move on and sort things out,” Nicholl said.
And apparently, Meghan and Harry had been planning on living a bi-coastal life all along anyway. “When Harry and Meghan left, they made it clear they didn’t want to give up their home in Britain. They still have Frogmore Cottage and their plan was to come back to the UK,” the expert added.
Frogmore, which Harry and Meghan were criticised by factions of the press for spending £2.4million of the Sovereign Grant refurbishing (though it’s since been reported that the couple have repaid the cost in full), currently stands empty.
Though Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank moved into the property last November, they stayed just six weeks before returning to Kensington Palace.
This Christmas will have a sad significance for the Royal Family, as it will be the Queen’s first Christmas without the Duke of Edinburgh by her side in 73 years.
The royals usually spend the festive season together at Sandringham, attending church services in the morning, before dining together in the afternoon. They even hold an annual Christmas lunch weigh-in, with all family members getting weighed before and after their lunch to ensure they’ve been well-fed enough. (Sounds like our kind of Christmas.)
Here’s hoping we get to see Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lilibet take part in the celebrations this year, too.
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