PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are set to snub the Queen for the second Christmas in a row and spend it with Harry’s “surrogate” dad David Foster, according to sources.
The pair are not ready to come back to UK for Christmas as they’re enjoying life in California, it was claimed today.
Meghan is apparently excited to host the Christmas holiday at her home and do the cooking, and the Royal Family is “not in the plan,” according to The Mirror.
An unnamed source allegedly said: “Meghan very much wants to host the first Christmas at their new home with her mum.
“She’s really excited and is planning on doing all the traditions she grew up with as a child, including the cooking.
“They’ve also invited David and Katherine to spend it with them.
“David had mentioned Harry and Meghan going to theirs but Meghan wants it at home.
“They want to get on with their new lives. Christmas with Harry’s family is not in the plan.”
Canadian record producer David Foster, a year younger than real dad Prince Charles, has been helping the royal couple start their life in the US.
And his wife Katherine McPhee, 36, was a friend of Meghan’s at high school in LA.
Katherine has said her husband Foster has a “really, really beautiful relationship” with Prince Harry, adding: “They’re so cute, like father and son”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently living at their £11.2million mansion in Santa Barbara after quitting the Royal Family this year.
A source also claimed to Vanity Fair that Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, were “not ready” for a family reunion at Christmas back in Britain.
They said: “At this stage they are really enjoying their new life in California and their new home.
“There are currently no plans for them to return to the UK for Christmas.”
They added: “Let’s just say that while things are better between Harry and his brother, it’s not what it was, and I don’t think anyone is ready for a cozy family Christmas right now.”
The couple spent the festive season last year with Meghan’s mum Doria and their son Archie in Canada, meaning it will be the second year in a row where they miss the Royal Family Christmas.
Prince Harry recently hinted at not returning to the UK in a Zoom interview with the Evening Standard, saying “everything has been through video”.
He added: “It doesn’t matter where in the world we have been” as he discussed keeping in touch with British charities.
The claims come after excerpts were today released of the bombshell book Battle of Brothers – including reports of Prince William and Prince Harry’s eroding relationship.
Author Robert Lacey believes their unique bond has been shattered by how the Sussexes went about Megxit.
It was even claimed William refused to dine with Harry and the Queen when the 36-year-old royal was called to the “Sandringham Summit” to discuss Megxit – and that he was so angry it was like he had “un-brothered” the Duke of Sussex.
The Sandringham summit was arranged for Monday, January 13 where Harry would finally speak with the Queen, Charles, William, and their aides.
Author Lacey wrote: “The Queen had suggested the family should gather for lunch before their big pow-wow in the library that afternoon, but he refused his grandmother’s invitation.
“He would obviously turn up at 2pm for the meeting, he said, but he only wanted to talk business.
“The Prince himself has not confirmed his friends’ speculation that he was so furious with his younger brother that he would not be able to endure the hypocrisy of smiling at him over lunch.”
Other claims in the book include:
- The Royal brother’s rift started when Harry announced Megxit without consulting the Queen
- Prince William was so angry with Harry’s behaviour it was as if he had “un-brothered” him
- Palace insiders thought Meghan’s ITV Africa interview was ‘miserably self-indulgent’
- The Sussexes were “non-personed” when the Queen deliberately left Duke and Duchess of Sussex picture off the table during her Christmas speech
- Harry and Meghan gave just ten minutes’ notice to the palace over their decision to quit the Royal Family
- The couple’s refusal to reveal who Archie godparent’s were showed they had an “exaggerated idea of their own importance”
Sources say William was stunned at Harry’s decision to throw away his duty and service to the crown, and furious that the Queen had been backed into a corner.
The author, who wrote a biography of the Queen in the 1970s titled Majesty, believes there is time to heal the rift but that the Palace “is not working in that direction”.
HOAR can reveal that William and Harry have barely spoken in the past few months, other than to wish each other Happy Birthday.
The rift has only worsened as William and Kate have been left carrying out royal engagements during the virus pandemic.
Harry and Meghan have continued to make public announcements on their new life including their multi-million-pound Netflix deal.
In August they revealed they had taken out a mortgage on a nine-bed house in Montecito, California.
