{"id":618470,"date":"2025-12-07T18:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T18:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/618470\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T18:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T18:49:10","slug":"inside-king-charless-christmas-olive-branch-to-prince-harry-its-a-possibility-royal-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/618470\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside King Charles\u2019s Christmas olive branch to Prince Harry – \u2018it\u2019s a possibility’ | Royal | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The King could make a peace offering to Prince Harry<\/a> over Christmas<\/a>.\u00a0Experts say the royal family could make amends with the festive season now upon us.<\/p>\n

Christmas<\/a> is a time when families come together and there\u2019s no better time to extend an olive branch than at this time of year. \u201cCertain aspects of the royal Christmas are a fundamental part of our lives, and have been for generations,\u201d says royal correspondent Richard Palmer. \u201cThe King\u2019s speech, the big gathering at Sandringham and the family\u2019s walk to church on Christmas Day all fill the news schedule, providing a sense of tradition and an important message about their values and the way they lead the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As usual, King Charles and Queen Camilla will host this year\u2019s festivities on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, continuing a custom set by the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.<\/p>\n

With the timescale set in stone, the festivities commence with a Christmas<\/a> Eve tea, followed by the exchange of light-hearted gifts and then a formal dinner.<\/p>\n

On Christmas morning the family attend a service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the estate, and after tucking into roast turkey and all the trimmings they gather around the TV to watch the monarch\u2019s broadcast at 3pm, before the revelry continues into the evening.<\/p>\n

Sandringham will certainly be a hive of activity, with the King and Queen set to be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh with Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex.<\/p>\n

Anne, Princess Royal and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence are also expected to join the celebrations, along with Zara<\/a> and Mike Tindall and their three children, plus Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their families.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a major thing because there are only two occasions in the year when the whole family gets together for any length of time \u2013 during the summer at Balmoral, and then at Christmas at Sandringham,\u201d says royal commentator and author Katie Nicholl.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the King, Christmas Day is also the one day of the year when he doesn\u2019t read the government papers in his red box.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a religious day and the only day he can fully switch off, just as his mother used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, it is unlikely that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their two children Archie and Lilibet will be present once again.<\/p>\n

Although Harry met with his father Charles for the first time in more than a year in September, sources believe their rift is not fully resolved, and there is still a gaping gulf between him and William.<\/p>\n

But that is not to say that the pair might not speak over the festive period.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Skype call is probably a more realistic option,\u201d Richard tells us. \u201cIt\u2019s too soon for Harry and Meghan to attend an event like the royal Christmas when there\u2019s so much still to sort out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katie agrees that the Sussexes still face a long road back, saying, \u201cThe initial step of reconciliation between Harry and his father will hopefully lead to something meaningful in future, but I\u2019m not sure everyone\u2019s as willing to welcome Harry in from the cold just yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

After challenging days for the royals in recent times, this festive period will undoubtedly carry a renewed sense of hope and gratitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difficulties of the past 18 months, marked by the ill-health of both King Charles<\/a> and the Princess of Wales, will make it an even more poignant and special time,\u201d says Katie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve heard Kate talk so movingly about the importance of love and family during her cancer recovery, which gives these occasions extra significance.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the King, Christmas will round off another year of continued cancer treatment. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to know if or when that treatment will end, but I know those closest to him worry that he works too hard,\u201d says Richard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be good for him to have a rest, because for the rest of the year he\u2019s known to be a workaholic and is usually at his desk until late at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the past few weeks, the King<\/a> will no doubt have been working on his Christmas Day address \u2013 watched by up to 10 million each year. \u201cLike the late Queen before him, Charles always insists on writing his speech himself,\u201d says Katie.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, he has consistently hit the right note, making sure no one is forgotten. He uses it as a way of connecting with the public and shining a spotlight on those who are vulnerable, and who have faced significant challenges over the previous 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than three years after the death of his mother, the late Queen\u2019s absence will still be felt by the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe always adored Christmas,\u201d adds Katie. \u201cAnd I think as much as the King puts his own stamp on it, she\u2019s never going to be far from everybody\u2019s mind. The loss of her is felt at many points during the year, but Christmas is the time when she is particularly missed and remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the growing younger generation of royals are on hand to help lighten the mood, and as Katie points out, \u201cHaving the children around is one of the highlights. It\u2019s always a time of much excitement, and Charles and Camilla<\/a> love doing things with the little ones like finishing decorating the trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wales children also have the bonus of celebrating Christmas<\/a> twice \u2013 once with the King and Queen and then with Granny and Grandpa Middleton.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Christmas fast approaching, only time will tell if the King and Prince Harry<\/a> will make amends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The King could make a peace offering to Prince Harry over Christmas.\u00a0Experts say the royal family could make…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[77,1760,518,447,48796,160150,519,8846,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-618470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-king-charles","10":"tag-king-charles-iii","11":"tag-prince-harry","12":"tag-reconciliation","13":"tag-royal-christmas","14":"tag-royal-family","15":"tag-sandringham","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115679786842159843","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}