Despite reported tensions following Prince Harry’s exit of the royal family, the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex have exchanged gifts for their families this year in signs of a Christmas ‘truce.’
Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, have sent gifts to Prince William, 38, and his family after a shopping trip to an exclusive boutique near Santa Barbara, The Sun has reported.
Meghan Markle allegedly added a personal touch by using her calligraphy skills to write messages Harry’s niece and nephews – Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five and Prince Louis, two.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton, who wrote Diana: Her True Story, claimed: ‘Harry has sent presents to William and Kate and the calligraphy has been done by Meghan.’
He added that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 38, also sent a present to Prince Harry, Meghan and their 17-month-old son, Archie.
Kensington Palace declined to comment.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have exchanged gifts with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it has been reported (pictured attending an event to thank local volunteers and key workers from organisations and charities in Berkshire, who will be volunteering or working to help others over the Christmas period in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle on December 8)
Andrew Morton also went on to claim that Harry ‘plans to speak to his father and brother over Christmas.’
It comes after an announcement by the Prime Minister that Christmas could not go on as planned yesterday during an address from 10 Downing Street which saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Christmas bubble plans disrupted like other families in the country.
The original plan had been for the Duke and Duchess, with children George, Charlotte and Louis, to travel to the Middletons’ Grade II listed home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, for the festivities, Emily Andrews wrote for the Mail on Sunday.
Kate’s sister Pippa, her husband James and their son Arthur were also due to join the family in Bucklebury for Christmas. Then Berkshire and London were plunged into tier 3, so Kate offered to host at Anmer Hall.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, pictured during a Time maazine online summit this summer, have sent gifts to Prince William, Kate Middleton and their children, with Meghan adding some calligraphy for Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two
But after the announcement last night that Berkshire was moving into tier 4 with a ban on travel and household mixing, the Middletons called off their plans.
It will be a bitter blow to Mike, 71, and Carole, 65, who had been planning their first Christmas Day with all four of their grandchildren: George, seven, Charlotte, five, and two-year-olds Louis and Arthur.
As queen of the kitchen, Carole let it be known in an interview two years ago that she normally wears a ‘big pinny’ and her Christmas essentials are ‘mince pies, mulled wine and mistletoe’.
She was also planning a champagne and smoked-salmon affair with a family meal for the big day based on a Mary Berry recipe, including a vegan option.
Now, the Cambridges will celebrate alone as a family of five.
The Queen has decided to spend this festive season ‘very quietly’ with the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle.
Pictured: the Cambridges’ Christmas card. The family will spent Christmas alone after the government changed the rules yesterday
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will be at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire forming a bubble with Camilla’s two children and five grandchildren.
The Queen, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, will remain protected at Windsor by ‘HMS Bubble’ – a small number of staff who have isolated from their own families. Special provision has been made to allow the Queen to attend church. There will be a tiny service, with masks, in her private chapel at the castle.
It will then be turkey for two for lunch with perhaps a video call to Prince Harry and Meghan in California. The Sussexes will be with son Archie, 19 months, and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, had been due to spend Christmas Day with her father Christopher Rhys Jones, 89, for the first time in 21 years, but as her Surrey home Bagshot Park is now in tier 4, that looks unlikely.
Sarah, Duchess of York, had planned to spend Christmas with daughters Beatrice and Eugenie for the first time since her divorce in 1996.