<p id=”par-1_69″>The <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/royal-family/”>royal family</a> has experienced a difficult four years. Since 2020, the House of Windsor has seen <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/king-charles-likely-avoiding-potential-u-s-visit-prince-harry-meghan-markle.html/?swcfpc=1″>Prince Harry and Meghan Markle</a> exit, faced <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/queen-elizabeth-peaceful-last-moments-revealed-private-royal-secretary-slipped-away.html/”>Queen Elizabeth’s death</a>, watched as Harry and Meghan smeared the royals in a series of press interviews, and stood alongside King Charles and Kate Middleton battle cancer. However, no more was the dysfunction of the clan more evident than the family’s 2024 annual Christmas walk.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-is-the-blatantly-apparent-dysfunction-during-the-royal-family-s-christmas-walk”>What is the blatantly apparent dysfunction during the royal family’s Christmas walk?</h2>
<p id=”par-2_47″><a href=”https://www.thedailybeast.com/kate-middleton-prince-william-join-christmas-walk-that-reveals-royals-deep-family-dysfunction/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Daily Beast</a> reports the royal family took their customary walk to church on the Sandringham estate on Dec. 25, 2024. This show of unity ended a tumultuous year for the clan. Two of its key members stepped back from public life due to devastating health diagnoses.</p>
<p id=”par-3_57″>“The annual walk to the Church of St, Mary Magdalene is supposed to exude an impression of unity, stability, and conventional family values. Despite a rapturous reception by a crowd estimated at over 1,000 at this year’s promenade, it exposed deep fractures within the family,” wrote Tom Sykes as the royal’s disfunction was laid bare on Christmas.</p>
<p id=”par-4_50″>He continued, “While Kate and William and their children George, Charlotte, and Louis were the stars of the show, there was zero public acknowledgment of the king’s other son, Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle, or their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who are in self-imposed exile in California.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-prince-andrew-and-sarah-ferguson-skipped-the-walk-but-their-daughter-didn-t”>Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson skipped the walk but their daughter didn’t</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/princess-beatrice-and-husband-eduardo-mozzi.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Eduardo Mozzi and Princess Beatrice on Christmas Day 2024″ class=”wp-image-3756672″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Eduardo Mozzi and Princess Beatrice on Christmas Day 2024 | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-5_35″>Along with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Prince Andrew remains in exile from other senior royals. He has not attended royal events since Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew of his military titles and patronages in 2022.</p>
<p id=”par-6_34″>Andrew can no longer use his HRH style in any official capacity. He remains a prince and the Duke of York. However, he will not return to public duties unless Charles reverses his mother’s decision.</p>
<p id=”par-7_51″>Therefore, in support of Prince Andrew, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/sarah-ferguson-takes-stance-feelings-queen-camilla-everything-happened-princess-diana.html/?swcfpc=1″>Sarah Ferguson, who was welcomed</a> back into the royal family fold last Christmas, skipped the annual festivities. However, their daughter Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi walked to church with the royal family. Her sister, Princess Eugenie, and husband Jack Brooksbank did not.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-did-exiled-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-do-on-christmas-day”>What did exiled Prince Harry and Meghan Markle do on Christmas Day?</h2>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-middleton-2025-royal-mission-involves-prince-harry-life-too-precious.html/”>
Kate Middleton’s 2025 Royal ‘Mission’ Involves Prince Harry: ‘Life’s Too Precious’ </a>
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<p id=”par-8_62″>According to a report by <a href=”https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/us-celebrity-news/inside-prince-harry-meghan-markles-34257006″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Mirror</a>, royal biographer Ingrid Seward says Prince Harry’s Christmas activities were very different than the royal family’s traditional Sandringham Christmas. Typically, royals participate in activities including opening presents on Christmas Eve. Church and traditional Christmas lunch on Christmas Day. The next day, a Boxing Day pheasant shoot takes place along with plenty of family party games.</p>
<p id=”par-9_37″>Harry reportedly adopted a more laid-back approach to the holiday since moving to the United States in 2020. He participates in traditional American traditions with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.</p>
<p id=”par-10_51″>Seward claims, “They will have picked a tree from the rows upon rows of Christmas pines in one of the local stores. Their house will be decorated, and the yard (garden) strung with festive lights. The wealthy residents of Montecito hire interior designers to decorate their houses and trees to perfection.”</p>
<p id=”par-11_39″>She added: “King Charles would have loved the opportunity to see his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet, but he knew inviting Harry and Meghan would have been awkward for the rest of the family. So, there was no official invitation.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_46″>Will <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-middleton-2025-royal-mission-involves-prince-harry-life-too-precious.html/?swcfpc=1″>Harry and Meghan someday be invited back</a> into the royal family fold to celebrate the Christmas holidays with their children? Only time will tell. However, until then, the clan will continue to look dysfunctional to outsiders as they deal with issues that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/king-charles-likely-avoiding-potential-u-s-visit-prince-harry-meghan-markle.html/?swcfpc=1″>divide their family</a>.</p>