Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their son Archie are currently spending the Christmas festivities in the U.S. with the Duchess of Sussex’s mom, Doria Ragland. This is the first time that the younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana didn’t celebrate the holidays with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family.
With that said, many assumed that Queen Elizabeth snubbed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when she didn’t include the royal couple in the photos in her speech. Was it because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn’t celebrate Christmas in Sandringham?
While some royal fans are convinced that Queen Elizabeth did it on purpose, others believe that she didn’t deliberately snub Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at all. The pictures include Her Majesty’s heirs Prince Charles, Prince William, and their families, so the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will still not be included even if they spend the holidays with the royal family.
“I don’t think their absence is a snub so much as a renewed focus on the line of succession, preparing the public for when Charles ascends to the throne,” one fan wrote. “Why does everyone think this is specifically a Harry and Meghan snub when even three of the Queen’s own four children aren’t in there either? It’s just the line of succession! And her sick husband!” another one shared.
It was previously reported that Queen Elizabeth gave Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the permission to celebrate the holidays in the U.S., which is why these snub speculations don’t make a lot of sense. The photos of Her Majesty with Prince Charles, Prince William, and their families are nothing more but snaps of the reigning Queen and the future rulers of the monarchy.
Meanwhile, Royal correspondent Rebecca English noted that Queen Elizabeth and Prince William’s relationship became a lot closer because of certain situations. The Duke of Cambridge is the second in the line of succession to the British throne, and his grandmother had been mentoring him for quite a while now.
“William, in particular, is growing closer to his grandmother, grandfather, and father,” she said. “This stepping up in the family pecking order is crucial, given the increasing frailness of his grandfather Prince Philip, 98—now living a solitary life at Sandringham — which has left the Queen needing the support of her heirs more than ever before.”
