The royal Christmas message has been a Yuletide tradition for millions in Britain and across the globe ever since George V’s historic radio broadcast in 1932 via Daily Mail.
Each monarch has turned these speeches into an opportunity for reflection and gratitude. They have been acknowledging the highs and lows of the year gone by. Queen Elizabeth II didn’t directly address the rift threatening to splinter her family in 2019 but royal experts noted a subtle detail in her pre-recorded festive message that hinted at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s impending exit from The Firm.
Unlike the year before, the late Queen decided not to display a photo of Prince Harry, Meghan, and their newborn son Archie on her desk in what many saw as a sign they had been ‘kicked to the margins of the monarchy’.
Prince William knew his brother – who was in Canada at the time – would pick up on the Queen’s message and throw what royal author Tina Brown described as a ‘Category 5 tantrum’ in her book Palace Papers.
‘William was said to have been appalled when he saw the Sussexes had been edited out,’ the former editor of Vanity Fair wrote.
‘He knew his brother well enough to predict a Category 5 tantrum brewing.’
Since their wedding in 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan had been working to carve out a new, ‘half-in, half-out’ role for themselves as the Duchess’s intent to modernise the monarchy became clear.
In October 2019, the couple announced they were going to take an extended break from Royal duties for some ‘much-needed family time’ before Kensington Palace confirmed Harry and Meghan were in Canada at the time.
They opted to skip the Royal Family’s annual Christmas festivities at Sandringham estate in Norfolk and spent the holidays with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, in Vancouver instead.
