King Charles and his beloved daughter-in-law Kate Middleton are said to be “breathing a sigh of relief” as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly offered the royals a “get out of jail card” for the Christmas season.
Typically, fans of the family are used to seeing them attend a service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on Christmas Day, with the group led by the King. On their way in and out, the royals typically stop to greet excited crowds—and it was half-anticipated that the Sussexes would once again join in with the tradition, now that they are back in the UK.
However, as is no secret, Harry and his brother, William, in particular, are far from friends right now, with King Charles seemingly caught in the middle of his two warring sons and attempting to rebuild a connection with Harry—all of which could’ve caused quite the spot of drama around Christmas plans.
Meghan and Harry last joined the King, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and others for a Christmas Day church service in 2018, before announcing in January 2019 that they wanted to step back from their senior working royal roles (and then moved to California).
The Princess of Wales also views the season as an especially poignant time, with her annual carol concert, Together at Christmas, expected to take place again this year (and it’s likely Catherine just wants a chilled season, with the focus to be on peace and harmony).
Luckily, it doesn’t sound like the King or the Waleses will have to stress much about whether Harry or Meghan need to make any invite lists, as a royal insider says they’re planning to head back to California to spend time with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
Ex-butler to Charles, Grant Harrold, who also worked for Prince Harry up until 2011, has told the press, “It would have been such a difficult time” had Meghan and Harry not offered this “get out of jail card” to the royals.
He added that keeping up a “poker face in public” is also very different compared to actually having to get through any “awkward” forced festivities as a family in private—which, according to Harrold, Prince William is strongly not up for doing.
Maybe they could just dip the toe with a FaceTime on Christmas Day? Or perhaps Camilla could organize a bonding Secret Santa for everyone to get involved in?