Why Harry And Meghan Missed The Queen’s Diplomatic Reception
Every year the Queen hosts the Christmas diplomatic reception, which is one of the most important and awaited events on the royal calendar and is taking place at Buckingham Palace tonight.
The guest list has a modest number of 1000 invited, such as highest-ranking members of the royal family, global diplomats, ambassadors, and government officials. Two people who have been confirmed to not be attending are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, so not use in setting up a plate for them.
At the moment, both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are on their break from royal duties. The couple, along with their seven-month-old son Archie is currently in the US so that they can spend some quality time with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, who lives in California. They are using this time off maximally by resting and relaxing before they return to their royal duties after the holidays.
This should not come as a surprise, as the two skipped the reception last year as well. Instead of that, the two of them went to support a charity dear to Harry, the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, which provides educational support for children in Uganda with Harry as its patron.
Some reports have come in that Meghan is actually using this time off to plan for the U.S. expansion of the Sussex Royal Foundation, with the Duchess making sure that the Stateside launch of their official charity to be “one of the biggest and most successful philanthropic organisations in the world.”
Other reports, though, say that the couple has left work at home and are completely focused on spending time as a family this holiday season and having a breather before returning.