Kate Middleton's Christmas Olive Branch to Meghan and Harry

Kate Middleton wears a red coat with a fur collar and a matching hat, Meghan Markle wears a navy coat and matching dress, Prince Harry wears a white shirt, blue tie, and large overcoat

(Image credit: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

published 17 December 2024

Previous reports suggested that King Charles wouldn't be inviting Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to Sandringham for Christmas. However, a former royal butler believes that Princess Kate may offer a festive olive branch to the Sussexes over the holiday season.

In a new interview with GB News, former royal butler Grant Harrold suggested that Kate Middleton could be the person to help reunite the family. "I believe that Catherine will reach out to Harry and Meghan and wish them a Happy Christmas, and I think Harry and Meghan themselves will possibly reach out," Harrold told the outlet. "The thing about Christmas is that it’s all about goodwill to others, letting bygones be bygones, forgetting the past, moving into the New Year."

Harrold continued, "So if there's any point in the year that the families are going to communicate or touch base, it’s going to be over Christmas—there's something magical about Christmas that gets families back together."

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Kate Middleton — "I believe that Catherine will reach out to Harry and Meghan."

The former royal butler also suggested that, thanks to modern technology, it would be easier than ever for the royals to reconnect. "I'd like to think that they will all be communicating, whether that is done by text calls or FaceTime—I'd like to think FaceTime, but that's something we will never know," Harrold told GB News.

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan won't be the only family members to miss Christmas at Sandringham. Sisters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are planning to spend the holidays with their respective in-laws. Their parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, will also avoid the Royal Family's formal affair in favor of a quiet Christmas at home, according to reports.

Kate Middleton holding a candle and singing next to Prince Louis, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince William in church — "Suggestions that Andrew be invited to Kate's annual carol service, possibly seated behind a pillar, were rejected."

Princess Kate recently hosted her annual Christmas carol concert, which was attended by several Royal Family members. But according to the Daily Mail, Kate allegedly refused to invite Prince Andrew to the event, even if he attended discreetly. "William and Kate aren't sharing the love," the publication reported. "A mole whispers that for the second year running, suggestions that Andrew be invited to Kate's annual carol service, possibly seated behind a pillar, were rejected."

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.