A stress-free Christmas for the British royal family? Not if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle show up. A royal expert says the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s presence would make it next to impossible for their fellow royals to “relax.”

Royals wouldn’t be able to ‘relax’ if Harry and Meghan visited over Christmas

Although Harry and Meghan aren’t expected to spend Christmas with the royal family (they haven’t in years), just the idea of it is “rather terrifying” considering what it would likely do to their relatives, according to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams.

“The idea of them spending Christmas with the Royal Family is rather terrifying,” he told Express. “Not everyone is lucky enough to relax during the festive season, and if the Sussexes were there no one could.”

Harry and his brother, Prince William, 42, are estranged and have been for years. That means things would likely be very awkward if they spend Christmas together. Harry’s relationship with their father, King Charles III, isn’t much better. The king reportedly stopped taking Harry’s calls over the summer due to his ongoing lawsuit against the British government to reinstate security.

Harry and Meghan haven’t reportedly received an invite to spend Christmas with the royal family. So they may not show up in Norfolk, England, at the Sandringham estate.

Harry may make a solo visit to the U.K. over the holidays

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, whose potential Christmas visit would ruin the holiday for the royal familyMeghan Markle and Prince Harry | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

While unlikely Harry and Meghan will visit the U.K. over the holidays, it’s not entirely out of the question for Harry. Charlotte Griffiths, Editor at Large of the Mail on Sunday, told GB News, that if spending Christmas in the U.K. were an option for the Sussexes, it’d likely only be Harry who would travel across the pond.

“I do think Harry is going to come over to the U.K. more and more,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he came over at Christmas. But he will be coming on his own. I think there’s no way Meghan will come over. It might be that they spend Christmas in Portugal [at their new vacation home] and he nips over to see the family.”

As for the possibility of Harry and Meghan going to Sandringham, Griffiths echoed Fitzwilliams’ comment. “I don’t think he’s usually invited to Balmoral,” she said of Harry. “They don’t feel they can relax when he’s at Balmoral with them. So I don’t think he’ll pop up there [at Sandringham].”

The Sussexes haven’t spent Christmas with the royal family since 2018

2024 would mark six years since Harry and Meghan have celebrated Christmas alongside the royal family. The last time they were at Sandringham walking to church and having Christmas lunch with the likes of King Charles and the Prince of Wales in December 2018.

In 2019, shortly before announcing their decision to leave royal life, Harry, Meghan, and their now-5-year-old son, Prince Archie, spent Christmas in Canada. (Their daughter, Princess Lilibet, didn’t join the Sussex family until 2021.) Since then they’ve celebrated at home in Montecito, California.

Harry and Meghan haven’t publicly shared what they plan to do for Christmas, whether that means a royal family reunion, staying home, or something entirely different such as going to Princess Diana’s childhood home.