Prince Harry will once again miss out on celebrating Christmas with the royals at Sandringham, given that he is now all but estranged from his family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are instead expected to remain in California with their two children and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland. Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, some 45 extended members of the monarch’s family will gather in Norfolk for the festivities.
And while Charles’s second-born won’t be in that number, the King has invited another family member – his stepson, Tom Parker Bowles, who will be attending for the very first time.
In a conversation on the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential, royal expert Richard Eden noted: “It is very significant the fact that Tom will be there, perhaps his sister Laura as well, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Tom Parker Bowles with his mother, Queen Camilla ( Image: Getty Images for Fortnum & Mason)
Harry will spend Christmas with Meghan
“Tom said his mother often suggested he joined them, but he’d always said no,” he added. “To have the King’s stepson there, but not his son is significant.”
Food critic Tom revealed in a recent interview with The Telegraph that his mother, Queen Camilla, personally requested his presence at the royal gathering this year. “My mum said, ‘I’d love you to come, I haven’t had Christmas with you for a long time,'” Tom shared.
He revealed his usual routine at Christmas was to spend the day with his ex-wife, former fashion editor Sara Buys, and their teenage children Lola and Frederick. “For the past 15 years it has been: I go back to my ex-wife’s house, sit in my tracksuit bottoms, go to the pub while the beef’s in, then try to get my children to watch The Wild Geese. Classic. So this would be a bit different,” he said.
Asked whether he knows which other family members will be in attendance, or what the activities might be, Tom replied: “I genuinely know nothing about it. “I know there’s turkey and sprouts and church. And I have to bring a suit and a dinner jacket.”
Tom also reflected on the importance of spending Christmas with his mum, noting that it has been a difficult period for the King and Queen, health-wise. Charles is being treated for cancer, and the Queen has been recovering from a bout of pneumonia after their trip to Australia and Samoa.
“It has been a hell of a two years for them,” he said. “The older you get, the more conscious you become of m.o.r.t.a.l.i.t.y, especially with illnesses and the rest of it.”
It comes after it was revealed that Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have pulled out of the Sandringham celebrations amid the furore surrounding his connections to an alleged Chinese spy.
It’s also believed that the couple’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will be with their respective inlaws on Christmas Day, meaning Andrew and Sarah will likely spend the day together quietly at Royal Lodge.
