Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle received a Christmas invite from the Spencer family, they are unlikely to visit – claims a source.

Harry and Meghan did receive an invite to Althorp this Christmas (Image: Getty)
While Prince Harry has been a regular visitor to the UK since quitting royal life and stepping back from duties in 2020, his wife, Meghan Markle, has not been pictured in Britain since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022.

The royal duo are set to decide where to spend the Christmas holidays this year, but according to a source, it appears they will not be back in the UK, despite receiving a family Christmas invite to Althorp by Harry’s uncle, Charles Spencer.

Although Harry and Meghan received an invite to the Spencer family home this year, it is unlikely their family will return to the UK with their two young children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three. A well-placed source told Express.co.uk: “Harry and Meghan are not going to spend Christmas with the Spencers or the Royal Family this year. It’s just not an option with the children at the moment due to what’s been going on with their security.”

Prince Harry has been given permission to appeal against the rejection of his legal challenge to the British government’s decision to take away his police protection when he is in Britain.

Harry’s legal team had initially argued that he had been treated unfairly in the changes to his police protection, when he claimed he still faced significant security threats.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on a visit to Colombia (Image: Archewell Foundation)

The Duke of Sussex has previously raised concerns about his wife’s welfare in the UK. Speaking to ITV’s ‘Tabloids on Trial’ he stated: “It’s still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read and whether it’s a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”

Express.co.uk has learned that King Charles and Queen Camilla have also sent out their invitations for this year’s Sandringham Christmas gathering. However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not been invited to the family event.

According to a well-placed source, Buckingham Palace aides sent out feelers for this year’s Christmas dinner which will be held in the ballroom at Sandringham House.

“There will be a large number of people present at this year’s dinner,” said the source. “It was trialled in the ballroom for the first time last year and proved a big success so this year will be held in a similar fashion.

King Charles and Queen Camilla host an annual Christmas gathering at Sandringham (Image: Getty)

Although the Firm’s gathering will be minus the Sussexes, it will still be a large family affair as Queen Camilla has invited her children and grandchildren.

Camilla, 77, has two children and five grandchildren of her own. Her son Tom Parker Bowles has one daughter Lola, 17, and a son, Freddy, 14, while her daughter Laura Lopes has a daughter Eliza, 16, and twins Gus and Louis, 14.

The source adds that although members of the Royal Family will congregate on the estate, not all of them will be staying there.

Prince William and Princess Kate will be staying at their home in nearby Anmer Hall but will be in attendance for the family festivities.