As the royals prepare for a festive Christmas at Sandringham, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain shut out for what will mark their seventh straight year absent from the family celebrations.
Despite hints this year that a rapprochement might be on the cards, particularly between King Charles and Prince Harry, Royal biographer Tom Bower believes Christmas is destined to be a challenging period for the Sussexes.
“Harry clearly met his father with the hope that he could ingratiate himself back into the family, but it isn’t going to work, there is just no way back for him,” Tom said.
“Harry himself said he didn’t know how long his father has got, and I think that hangs over him, but I don’t think he’s that high up on Charles’ list of priorities.”
He continued: “And Meghan isn’t reconciled with her own family and she never wants to come back to Britain, so her relationships with both families act against Harry’s own instinctive interests. The result is they are left in a very isolated place at Christmas.”
Harry, 41, and the King, 77, held a brief 54-minute meeting at Clarence House in September, marking their first face-to-face encounter in over 18 months.