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Will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spend Christmas with the royal family? 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not revealed their holiday plans for 2026. But a royal expert says there is a possibility that the couple could spend Christmas with Harry’s family. Grant Harrold, a former royal butler, believes the Sussexes might reunite with the royal family for the holiday. But that will only happen if the pair don’t stir up trouble, he told the Daily Express.

“I think it’s almost certain [Harry and Meghan] would be invited, as long as they behave themselves and don’t do anything they shouldn’t,” Harrold said. “I think it’s highly likely they would get an invitation.”

However, a royal reunion later this year is not guaranteed. Other sources have said that Harry and Meghan don’t expect an invitation to Christmas from his family. And even if King Charles does welcome his younger son and his daughter-in-law to Sandringham, the royal family could still find themselves bitterly divided this holiday season. Harry’s icy feud with his elder brother, Prince William, has not thawed. If Harry and Meghan show up for Christmas, Williams and his wife, Kate Middleton, might bow out.

“Whether the Waleses would be there as well is a very different matter. We will have to wait and see how things develop between now and then,” Harrold said.

While William might bristle, the larger royal family could well decide that, despite tensions, not inviting Harry and Meghan would look odd, especially now that the Sussexes are back in the U.K. 

“I think they all would be together, and you’d see them doing all the normal stuff—the church service, the walkabout, all the things you would expect the family to do at Christmas,” Harrold said. “I don’t think they’d just be tucked away somewhere and kept out of sight.”

He added, “I think both sides would want to make the return look like a success. But, again, it depends on what happens between now and then and how relations develop.”

It’s also possible that Harry and Meghan could simply sidestep questions of a royal family reunion this Christmas. The couple may opt to spend the holiday with her mother, Doria Ragland. The Duchess’s mother is reportedly planning to travel to the U.K. later this year to spend time with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, Hello! reports.  

Meghan has said in the past that she enjoys Christmas as a quiet day spent with her immediate family. 

“I plan to spend today cuddled up with my family—maybe pajamas all day, some Scrabble or Sequence (or Candyland for the kids), music playing, candles flickering, dogs snoring, endless grazing; the laughter, the sidebars, the deep breaths (you know the ones), the fun, and the memories,” she said in her 2025 Christmas message. 

Meghan and Harry last spent Christmas with his family in 2018, after their wedding in May of that year. 

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