The royal story that has captivated the world for years just took its most dramatic and deeply human turn yet. And darling, we cannot look away.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have decided to return to the United Kingdom for an extended stay, with their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, already enrolled at British schools and set to begin classes in September. After more than six years based in California, the family is coming home.
The return comes after Harry recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer. Charles was informed of the couple’s plans and, while pleased he will have more opportunity to see his son and grandchildren, there will be no alterations to Harry or Meghan’s status within the royal family. They will remain private individuals and non-working royals, exactly as agreed in 2020.
And now, with the Sussex family back on British soil for the first time in years, all eyes are turning to the question that has the entire royal-watching world completely transfixed: will Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet be invited to Christmas at Sandringham?
Sources have claimed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not receive automatic invitations to royal family occasions such as Christmas at Sandringham or the annual Balmoral holiday, despite their imminent return to Britain. The King appears to be maintaining long-standing conventions established since the Sussexes stepped back from royal duties. And the question of Prince William and Princess Kate’s response to the return remains the most watched and most delicate dynamic of all.
Harry has said he would love a reconciliation with the royal family, telling the BBC earlier this year, “I don’t know how much longer my father has.” Those words carry an extraordinary weight. And they are perhaps the most honest and human explanation for what is, by any measure, one of the most significant decisions the Sussexes have ever made.
Whatever happens at Sandringham this Christmas, one thing is certain: the world will be watching. And the story of Harry, Meghan, and the royal family has never felt more real, more complicated, or more deeply human than it does right now.