Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be heading back to the UK for Christmas with their son Archie — now that they no longer have a court battle on the immediate horizon.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had planned to return in December with Archie, 17 months, ahead of Meghan’s privacy trial set for January, the Sunday Times reported.
But the couple changed their plans after a judge granted Meghan’s request to postpone the trial until next fall for a “confidential” reason.
“It is unlikely the Duke and Duchess will be traveling before the end of the year because the focus had been the trial in January,” a spokesman for the couple told the outlet.
“As that is no longer happening, there are no plans to travel at the moment, but any travel plans will be kept under review.”
The family’s absence during the holidays will likely be particularly hard for Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, who have not seen their youngest great-grandchild for a year, the newspaper reported.
The couple took Archie to Canada last November for what was characterized as a temporary break from their duties, but didn’t bring him back with them when they made trips in January and March before they officially resigned from the royal family, the outlet reported.
Meghan, 39, has sued the Mail on Sunday’s publishers Associated Newspapers for printing a private letter sent to her father, Thomas Markle.