Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Reportedly 'Making Early Plans' for Christmas in the Cotswolds

Prince Harry and Meghan are reportedly planning to spend the holidays in the Cotswolds, after earlier reports suggested that they would leave for the season to avoid an 'awkward' Christmas with the royal family.

The alleged U-turn drew attention from royal commentators, with journalist Tom Sykes interpreting the change in the Sussexes' strategy as a way to establish themselves in Britain and in the hearts of the British people.

Despite Harry and Meghan returning to the UK after spending six years away in the US, they may not spend Christmas with the royal family as tensions persist.

Prince Harry and Meghan Change Montecito Holiday Plans

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly reassessed the plan to leave the UK for the festive season and are now understood to be preparing for a British Christmas.

According to a report, Harry and Meghan are 'making early plans' to celebrate Christmas in the prince's homeland and may bring Doria Ragland, Meghan's mother, along for the festivities.

Should they stick to their current agenda, this would mark their first Christmas in the UK in eight years and Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's first Christmas in the country.

The couple returned to England in late August after living far away from the extended royal family and have reportedly settled in the guest house of billionaire Ian Wace's Cotswolds estate.

Their decision to remain in Britain comes after sources claimed that a holiday in the country would be 'difficult' for the estranged royals.

Reports in October had created expectations that the Sussexes would be leaving the UK for the holidays, as they aimed to keep ongoing family tensions away from the festivities.

Friends of the couple previously told The Times that they had no intention of spending Christmas with the royal family or attending the event at their Sandringham house for the holidays.

'For Thanksgiving and Christmas, they will do whatever Doria wants to do,' a friend told the outlet. 'They won't be having Christmas with the royal family. How could that even work? They know it would be too awkward and too difficult.'

The source noted that the Duke and Duchess were not expecting to be invited to the royal celebrations, and they weren't going to wait for an invite that was never coming.

While the report indicated that they were likely leaving, the source also suggested they were bringing Ragland over to the UK to spend the holidays with them, but 'they will be wherever she wants to be.'

Royal Reporter Says Christmas U-Turn Is Part of Sussexes' Strategy

Royal reporter Tom Sykes offered a possible explanation for why Harry and Meghan now see the UK as a good place to spend the holidays, despite the lack of change in their strained relationship with the royal family.

Speaking to the journalist Paula Froelich, Sykes argued the move was meant to keep themselves in the spotlight and generate attention.

'I think this was probably too good an opportunity commercially to pass up or to create that conflict,' he said.

Sykes explained that their Hollywood advisers, 'Sunshine Sachs', may have given the couple the idea that the move could help maintain interest in the Sussex brand.

'If you want to create attention and you want to create headlines, it's to create these guessing games, for example, 'Will they, won't they stay for Christmas?' or 'Will they, won't they go to Sandringham?'' Sykes proposed.

'You can't really say, 'We are British, we are moving back to Britain, I am a prince of England' if you're too scared to stay here for Christmas,' he concluded.

The Rift Between the Royal Family and the Sussexes Persist as the Holidays Approach

Despite being back in the UK and living closer to their royal relatives, tensions between the Sussexes and the wider family appeared to have worsened following their return.

King Charles III, through the Lord Chamberlain, Richard Benyon, issued royal guidance classifying the Sussexes as private citizens, which reportedly bothered the couple as they see themselves as public figures.

Their royal-style visit to Nottingham, which some critics saw as a defiance of the king's letter, may have landed badly with the royal establishment.

Considering their fractured relationship with the royal family, it is not a surprise that they don't expect an invitation to the celebrations, especially as Prince William reportedly doesn't want them there.

According to Closer, William reportedly doesn't want to 'make nice' with Harry and Meghan for Christmas and would rather skip the whole affair than spend it with his brother and sister-in-law.

'He's adamant that he'd rather spend Christmas alone than face those two across the table,' a source told the outlet.

William allegedly believes that there's more 'bad blood' between him and Harry, which would make for an incredibly awkward Christmas in the off chance that the Sussexes do get invited.