The royal family will reportedly spend another holiday season apart from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
According to a source familiar with the monarch's Christmas plans who spoke to People, King Charles is not inviting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to this year's royal Christmas gathering at Sandringham.
"The couple, who are expected to spend the holidays in the U.S., haven’t taken part in Christmas with the royal family since 2018, the year they married," the outlet reported on Friday, Nov. 29.
News that Prince Harry and Markle are not invited to the monarch's holiday festivities is far from surprising, considering Prince Harry is still estranged from his father, King Charles, and his brother, Prince William. Earlier this year, Charles reportedly refused to meet with his younger son when he was in the U.K. celebrating the 10th anniversary of his beloved Invictus Games
“In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the Duke will meet with his father while in the U.K. this week it, unfortunately, will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full program," a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said at the time.
Even after both his father and sister-in-law, Princess Kate, were diagnosed with unspecified types of cancers, relationships between Prince Harry and members of the royal family have remained strained. In August, a source told People that Prince William is reportedly ignoring Prince Harry's multiple calls, texts and messages, telling the publication the rift between the two siblings is "very bad."
"He gets 'unavailable right now,'" a friend close to the Duke of Sussex told the publication. "His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King's health, but those calls go unanswered, too."
The same insider told the publication that King Charles remains non-responsive when it comes to Prince Harry's multiple requests for help in regards to the security of his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
"Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father," a royal insider told the publication at the time. Another source added that the Duke of Sussex is "determined to protect his own family at all costs."
Prince Harry has also been candid about the threats he believes his family still face when or if they travel to the United Kingdom. In the documentary Tabloids on Trial, released in July, the Duke of Sussex shared why he doesn't believe his family is safe in his home country.
"It's still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read," Harry said in the film. "And whether it's a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me, it's one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country."
