Two months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the jump back to the UK, the pair are already considering a return to California to spend the holiday season with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland.
A new report reveals that the pair are already looking ahead to Christmas, and have acknowledged privately that they will not be invited to spend the day with the royal family, knowing that it "would be awkward."
© Chris Jackson/Getty Images"How could that even work? They know it would be too awkward and too difficult. They also know they’re not going to be invited, and they’re not waiting for an invitation," The Times reports.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will, instead, "do whatever Doria wants to do" for both Thanksgiving, at the end of November, and Christmas.
Doria has remained living in California; it is unclear if Doria will fly to the UK or if the family will return to California, however the Sussexes' two children, Prince Archie, seven, and five-year-old Princess Lilibet will both be expected in school during the week of Thanksgiving.
The reports come days after HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash also suggested that the Sussexes upcoming holiday season plans would include Doria.
"I would be very surprised if the Sussexes are around at Christmas. I think they'll head to see Doria. I think that was always the plan," she said on this week's episode of the Right Royal Podcast.
Emily's comments come after HELLO! exclusively revealed that, despite reports that Harry and Meghan had largely returned to the UK to spend more time with King Charles, six weeks after touching down in the country on August 26, the former royals had still not yet seen Harry's father in person.
Harry and Charles had a telephone conversation during his first week back in the UK.
© Getty ImagesMeghan has largely stayed out of the public eye in the last two months, instead working full-time on her As Ever lifestyle business. There have also been reports that she hopes to reach out to former patrons from her time as a working royal to resume partnerships.
The mother-of-two has been pictured enjoying private outings such as a pub lunch with Harry near the non-royal residence in the Cotswolds they are living in, and dinner with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai at Claridge's hotel in London.
© Getty ImagesHarry, however, jumped straight back into a life of service, visiting the Royal Naval College in London for the Invictus Spirit Awards and the launch of the INSPIRE education program in early September, and attending the WellChild Awards, one of his long-standing patronages.
He made a brief return to NYC to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting regarding the risks of social media and AI for children, and most recently was seen at a local rugby match, where he reunited with his cousin George McCorquodale, the son of his mother Princess Diana's sister, Sarah McCorquodale.
