First Christmas without Elizabeth: Will Harry and Meghan be able to ruin it?

It had to be the first “normal” Christmas for the royal family after two years of separate holidays due to the pandemic, but that’s not to say it will. There will be rallies at Sandringhamexchanging gifts on Christmas Eve and walking to church on Christmas morning. But Elizabeth won’t be there. No official communication, as in perfect royal style, but it’s easy to imagine that there won’t even be any Harry and Meghanfresh from new allegations launched in their docu-series Harry & Meghan.

Certainly, it will be the first Christmas holidays celebrated by King Charles and his queen consort Camilla, even if nostalgic voices arrive from Buckingham Palace: «It will be difficult, it is the first year without Elisabetta. Everything we remember, traditions and customs, are linked to her», says a former member of the staff of the palace a People.

Harry&Meghan-gate

But the real bugbear this year comes from California. After the release of the docuseries Harry&Meghan, in which the Dukes of Sussex tell Netflix about their hellish life in the UK, it is not certain that the two will attend Christmas with the royal family. Although Harry said in the documentary: “I have such happy memories of Sandringham – it was where we spent every Christmas – and now I was there again under very different circumstances,” referring to the moment he announced with his wife Meghan Markle that they would step back from the active engagements of the royal family.

Prior to the release of the documentary, rumors had revealed that King Charles really wanted Harry and his wife to join the rest of the family in Sandringham, especially to spend some time with the grandchildren Archie and Lilibet, which he has only seen on rare occasions so far, but an unequivocal «No, thank you» would have come from the Sussexes. Relations, already tense after the megxitwould only get worse after December 8, the release date of the first installments of Harry&Meghan. Even with his brother William and Kate Middleton the matter would have become more complicated. According to some palace insiders, the words spoken in the Netflix series would have created a real rift between Lady D’s children, it seems without the possibility of reconciliation. Even if there hasn’t been – and probably won’t be – official reactions from King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla or the Princes of Wales, a contentious Christmas is to be expected in England.

The great absentee, Queen Elizabeth

The queen will probably be remembered in the Christmas speeches by King Charles, which airs every public holiday at 3pm UK. Impossible to predict the exact words but surely there will be a hint of the mother. “We are so used to seeing the Queen on TV at Christmas, as well as in the front row at mass at Sandringham, that it couldn’t be otherwise,” says a insiders of Buckingham Palace a People.

But Lilibet (even if only her husband Filippo could call her that way) she was also the protagonist of the annual concert of Christmas carols held at Westminster Abbey last Thursday. «This concert is dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and to all those who are sadly no longer with us. Her Majesty’s deeply rooted values ​​of duty, compassion and faith guided her creation,” reads the message of the Royal Carols.

Despite the large absence, long-standing traditions will be preserved, including gathering in the beloved country estate of the late monarch in Norfolk for the holidays. “Carlo has always been very fond of Sandringham,” explains royal biographer Ingrid Seward. «Every family is linked to some Christmas traditions. He will keep the same ones as always.” This year, however, there will still be something new: it will be Camilla, for the first time as queen consort, to act as hostess and host the festivities. Between new entry on the guest list her children, Tom and Laura, had with Andrew Parker-Bowles, who will spend their first Christmas at Sandringham.