The Duchess of Sussex could be set to return to the UK with Prince Harry and their two children later this year.
Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle could be set to spend Christmas with Prince Harry and their children in the UK this year, it has been claimed.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly received an invite to spend the festive period with Charles Spencer at Althorp, Express.co.uk has learned.

If the couple do accept the invite, it will be the first time Meghan has properly set foot in the UK since the late Queen’s funeral in 2022.

The source adds that Harry and Meghan have not yet received an invitation to join the Royal Family at their annual Sandringham gathering – and it’s not thought they would accept even if one was extended.

According to the Express, the source said: “Charles [Spencer] has invited Harry, Meghan and the children to Althorp this Christmas,” said the source. “It’s far too early to say whether they will take him up on it, but the offer is there if they want it.

“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.”

Harry and Meghan have been notably absent from the Royal Family’s Christmas gathering at Sandringham since 2018. The couple were also excluded from the Firm’s “summer summit” at Balmoral last week.

It was reported that Harry visited Althorp House – the Spencer ancestral home and final resting place of his late mother – during his trip to the UK last week. The Duke, who is set to celebrate his 40th birthday next week, attended Lord Robert Fellowes’ memorial service in Norfolk on August 28.

Prince Harry and Meghan pictured in 2022

Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at the service in Snettisham, Norfolk, and is reported to have stayed at the Althorp estate in Northamptonshire.

The funeral was also attended by his brother, Prince William, but eyewitnesses claimed the estranged brothers kept their distance and sat apart at the back of St Mary’s Church.

The service took place just two days before the 27th anniversary of Diana’s death. Her final resting place is on an island on the Oval Lake at Althorp.