Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan will not be joining the rest of the royal family in Sandringham this year for Christmas and the Queen is disappointed by this news. This year marks Archie's first Christmas, making it a significant one for the young couple.
Despite addressing rumors of the state of his relationship with his brother in the uncharacteristically candid ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, this new news has added more fuel to the fire concerning the suspected rift. Harry attempted to dismiss the distance as a more natural evolution of a sibling relationship. However, rumors swirled after the public noticed what they believed to be a visible chill in the relationship in a recent joint appearance for Remembrance Day. This new development which has the royal couples on opposite sides of the ocean for the holidays has sparked more talk of not only an issue with the royal siblings but also a potential ongoing feud between Meghan and Kate. There may however be a much more innocent explanation for the geographical divide during the festive season.
The Queen has publicly expressed her support for the new family's decision to spend the holidays in the States via an announcement addressing the upcoming 6-week break, made by Buckingham Palace. However, a source also reportedly told Us Weekly that privately the royal matriarch has expressed her disappointment with this arrangement. Having spent the past two Christmases at Sandringham with the royal family, many expected the Harry and Meghan to join them once again this year with Archie to join in the traditional celebration. While there have been no specific details on how the new family plans to spend the break, the announcement did say they would be spending the holiday with the Duchess' mother Doria Ragland. There are plenty of reasons this arrangement could result in the Queen's disappointment. In addition to less than ideal optics a holiday apart will present, it also keeps the couples from a chance to mend their relationships. The source also confirms that this divide between William and Harry "is one of the main reasons behind their decision"
The source later went on to elaborate, explaining that the couple is feeling the pressure of the drama they are dealing with both publicly and privately. For these reasons they suggest that the couple is separating themselves in an attempt to focus on their family and specifically young Archie, making his first Christmas a "small Christmas with just immediate family." A separate source revealed to People that celebrating American traditions this year could also play a role as the break would cover Thanksgiving as well. The source revealed, "This would also be Harry’s first Thanksgiving in the States." They continued, "It will be nice for them to be around people that love them and have him understand her traditions too."
Regardless of the drama surrounding them, any new parent can appreciate the significance of your child's first Christmas and the desire to spend it as calm and relaxing of an environment as possible. All couples, royal or not, face the challenges of dividing time between both sides of the family, which can be complicated in situations where both families reside in the same town let alone on opposite sides of the globe. While there does seem to be plenty of evidence of a rift in the family, thanks to Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, that is also one more thing that is not unique to the Royals. The plethora of holiday movies made about the topic of family dysfunction amped up by the festivities seems to support the idea that, at least in this instance, it appears much of their drama is fairly relatable.