Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to spend Christmas away from Sandringham to 'recharge'

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are reportedly not planning to join the Christmas festivities with the rest of the royal family at Sandringham so they can recuperate and think about their plans for 2020.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may either spend the holidays at their home in Windsor or travel to the U.S. to be with Doria Ragland, Meghan Markle's mum. A source said that the couple initially planned to see Doria after Prince Harry attends a Royal Albert Hall event on Sunday. They will be taking a break from royal duties for six weeks and plan to spend Thanksgiving with Doria. Then, they were supposed to return to the U.K. to spend Christmas at Sandringham.

Now, it appears that they have changed their mind and decided to celebrate separately since "they need some time away to recharge and decide their plans for next year." It is unclear how this would affect Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, especially since Prince Harry has always spent Christmas at his grandmother's Norfolk home. The only time he missed it was when he was in Afghanistan in 2012. He has since spent Christmas with his family and Meghan has joined him.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward said that Harry and Meghan are concerned that their six-month-old son, Archie, might feel stressed since Christmas at Sandringham can be stressful.

"Christmas at Sandringham can be quite stressful so perhaps they don't want to go with Archie at such a young age. Having said that, Sandringham has played host to many many children through the ages and is well set up for them," Seward told The Sun.

She expressed her sadness at the thought of the couple not being a part of the family gathering, which has been a tradition, especially now that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip "are in their dotage." She shared that the monarch "might be a little hurt" by the couple's decision but she is "far too gracious" to show it.

Meanwhile, Seward added that Harry and Meghan's decision to skip Christmas at Sandringham probably has nothing to do with Archie, but with their personal feelings. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly caused rifts between members of the royal family after their ITV interview, where Harry confirmed his rift with his brother Prince William, and Meghan revealed her struggles adjusting to royal life and adapting the "British stiff upper lip."