Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are Skipping the Royal Family's Christmas This Year

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have reportedly settled on how they want to spend their first Christmas since relocating back to the United Kingdom, and it does not involve Sandringham.

A holiday with Doria, not the King

According to People, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to mark both Thanksgiving and Christmas with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, rather than joining the wider royal family's traditional gathering. The couple moved back to Britain in August with their children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, but that return does not appear to extend to the Sandringham guest list.

Exactly where the holiday will happen is still open. Ragland still lives in California, and a friend close to the couple told The Sunday Times that Harry and Meghan are happy to build their plans around whatever she prefers. 'For Thanksgiving and Christmas, they will do whatever Doria wants to do,' the friend said. 'They would love her to come over to the U.K. and spend it with them here, but they will be wherever she wants to be.'

Why Sandringham is not on the table

A separate source told The Sunday Times that the couple is not expecting, or waiting on, an invitation to King Charles's Christmas gathering this year. 'They won't be having Christmas with the royal family,' the source said. 'How could that even work? They know it would be too awkward and too difficult. They also know they're not going to be invited, and they're not waiting for an invitation.'

Some thawing, even so

The move back to Britain has brought a little more contact with Harry's side of the family, even if the relationships involved stay complicated. In July, the Sussexes and their children reportedly had tea with King Charles and Queen Camilla, and People has reported that Harry and his father still speak by phone. His relationship with his brother, Prince William, remains estranged.