Kate Middleton's 'Magical Christmas' Gesture Could Thaw Royal Freeze With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Amid a large royal gathering at Anmer Hall, Catherine, Princess of Wales, could possibly take a pause to call an unlikely duo this holiday season.

Former royal butler Grant Harrold said on behalf of Slingo, "I believe that Catherine will reach out to Harry and Meghan and wish them a Happy Christmas, and I think Harry and Meghan themselves will possibly reach out."

"The thing about Christmas is that it’s all about goodwill to others, letting bygones be bygones, forgetting the past, moving into the New Year. So if there's any point in the year that the families are going to communicate or touch base, it’s going to be over Christmas — there's something magical about Christmas that gets families back together," he said.

King Charles III's ex-aide then shared how he hoped they would all be talking to one another, "whether that is done by text calls or FaceTime — I'd like to think FaceTime, but that's something we will never know."

He concluded, "I like to think deep down that things are moving in the right direction. I have a feeling that they are. I really do think they are, but that's just my personal feeling."

In November, and as expected by many, a source confirmed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had not been invited to spend that day with the royal family at Sandringham in Norfolk. Instead, the duo could be set to "totally snub" the monarchy and spend the festive season with another branch of their extended families in the English countryside.

"Charles [Spencer] has invited Harry, Meghan and the children to Althorp this Christmas," an insider close to the Spencer family spilled. "It's far too early to say whether they will take him up on it, but the offer is there if they want it."

Every year since their last regal Christmas in 2018, Harry and Meghan have reportedly received an invite to stay at Sandringham House, where senior and junior royals spend the festive season. However, the 2022 and 2023 Sussex invites remain in dispute, both of which were the first two Christmases under the King.

"Honestly, I think the King stopped inviting them to things because they consistently turned the invitations down for years," a palace source explained for 2024. "It doesn't have to automatically mean that he loathes them for good — it's still his youngest son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren at the end of the day."

This led the Spencer family insider to observe, "There hasn't been an invitation extended to Sandringham just yet, but that doesn't mean there won't be one forthcoming. It would be highly unlikely if there was an invitation extended [to Sandringham] and I don't think they [the Sussexes) would take them up on it anyway."