Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have started to build their own royal traditions in recent years, and they’re both excited for this year’s Christmas with their kids for one big reason.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not spent a Christmas with the royal family since 2018. By 2019, tensions were already brewing between the Sussex family and the rest of the royals, so Harry and Meghan took their son, Prince Archie, on holiday to Canada for six weeks.

This year, it doesn’t look like Harry and Meghan will be spending any time with the royals. Insiders say the two are especially excited for the holiday, though, for one big reason.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Prince Archie | Toby Melville/Pool/Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s kids are old enough to understand Christmas

Harry and Meghan are reportedly looking forward to this year’s holiday because their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are both old enough to understand what’s happening. Archie is five and Lilibet is three, and they’ve reached the age where Christmas is starting to mean a lot to them. Insiders say that the Sussexes are planning to spend the holiday with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, but nobody from Harry’s family.

“This year feels special because both children fully ‘get it’ — they’ve been talking about Santa and Christmas for weeks,” a source told OK! Magazine, per Express. “The kids will have their own tree to decorate, while the main tree will be a bit more color-coordinated! They will have lots of people over for the holidays; Doria will even move in for a bit.”

Harry and Meghan both reportedly love the holiday season and decorate for the holiday immediately after Thanksgiving. The two have mostly kept quiet about their holiday plans over the last few years, but now that the kids are getting older, holiday traditions will likely start to form.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were invited to the United Kingdom for Christmas

Harry has not returned to the UK with his family since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022. When Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal roles, Britain’s Home Office chose to remove their royal-level security. Harry has said in the past that he refuses to bring his family back to the UK until proper security is granted.

Earlier this year, Harry and Meghan were reportedly invited to spend Christmas with Princess Diana’s family. However, the same UK security issue still stands, which prevents Harry from accepting the offer. Since 2019, the Sussexes have remained in Meghan’s home state of California for Christmas, and that will likely be the case for 2024 as well.