King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla Are Throwing a Huge Christmas Party at Sandringham—But Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Aren’t Invited

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published 17 December 2022

Christmas at Sandringham will look a little bit differently this year: aside from the most obvious change—that Her late Majesty is no longer with us—King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are apparently throwing what The Mirror is calling a huge Christmas party with a much wider than usual circle of relatives. Two relatives not on the guest list? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose just-released Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan has done anything but cool tensions between them and the rest of the royal family.

“The gathering is thought to be one of the biggest the royals have thrown in several years, since the last two Christmases were hampered by the pandemic,” the outlet reports. On the guest list? The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, Zara and Mike Tindall (daughter and son-in-law of Charles’ sister, Princess Anne), and, notably for the first time, Camilla’s two children, Tom Parker-Bowles and Laura Lopes. Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie will be there, and even disgraced Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, have been invited, despite Andrew being stripped of his titles and duties as a working member of the royal family. “It’s understood the family are planning to all walk to the morning church service together as a show of unity,” The Mirror reports.

In addition to Harry & Meghan, Harry’s forthcoming memoir, Spare, and its unknown contents will still loom over the family on Christmas, as the book isn’t released until January 10.

“Camilla is keen that her family are at the heart of Christmas, particularly as Charles won’t have his youngest son there,” a source tells The Sun, per The Mirror. “It is an extremely important Christmas, coming just months after they last all gathered for the Queen’s funeral…We saw the togetherness at the Princess of Wales’ carol concert this week, and Christmas will be held in the same spirit.”

And, if you’re looking for the royal family to comment on Harry & Meghan—both the eponymous docuseries and the twosome themselves—don’t hold your breath. The Mirror reports that a source says “some astonishing claims have been made but the family are determined to stick together and maintain a dignified silence. They will not be dragged into a tit-for-tat row.”

'Spare' by Prince Harry

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.