Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Reportedly Absent from Queen's Annual Christmas Lunch Because They're on a Royal Break

The royal family of Sussex raised brows as they were absent at Queen Elizabeth II’s annual Christmas lunch customarily graced by all the royals.

As a long-standing practice among the Royals, the Queen hosts an annual Christmas lunch at her Buckingham Palace attended by all the royalties before sailing off to Sandringham for the rest of the holidays.

This year, however, witnessed a spur of defiance as the Sussex Royals, Prince Harry, his wife, Megan Markle, and their infant son, Prince Archie were reportedly absent during the festivity.

All royal roads led to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to grace the biggest and most talked-about lunch in England. However, one important family was missing from the event, the Sussex trio.

The Duke and Duchess, along with their seven-month-old son, were reportedly on a 6-week break, which began in mid-November to observe a “much-needed family time” with Meghan’s mom in the United States.

The Prince and his wife, who has made two previous appearances at the lunch, first in 2017 as Harry’s fiance, and then last year, while she was pregnant with her son, announced their intended break weeks before they took off.

According to a release by a Royal spokesperson, the 35-year-old Prince and his wife supposedly spent Thanksgiving with “close family” while on a long trip to the US.

The celebration was said to have been kept private. Prior to that, the Royals shared a thanksgiving post on their joint Instagram account, adding a maple leaf to the caption, which raised speculations that they were away in Canada.

While away on their mystery trip, fans of the royalties showed their loyalty to their favorite royals amid some trolling over their decision to spend the holidays away from Samdringham.

One follower, Becca Anderson, sent out a heartfelt letter to the Duchess, to encourage her to remain steadfast. Meghan received the gesture warmly, replying with a thank you note shortly after, complete with the Buckingham Palace letterhead.

The Duchess of York, who became a royal following her marriage to former husband, Prince Andrew, has extended an arm of support to the Duchess through her phase of public criticism. She said:

“I have been in Meghan’s shoes, and I still am. There’s always a twist of negativity, and it just gets so hard and tiring. It’s hard and mean.”

The 60-year-old also expressed her concerns for the royalties over the pain they went through on account of public trolling.

Following the official announcement of the royal family’s six weeks vacation last month, the Buckingham palace released an official statement that the couple had the support of the Queen to spend the holidays in the US.

However, a source noted that the Queen of England was disappointed by the decision. Speculations arose shortly after that the decision was spurred by the alleged rift between the Royal brothers, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Despite the underlying controversies, the Royal family of Sussex are making the most of their six weeks family vacation.