Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be looking forward to a festive season with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, but the holidays can also be a difficult time for the couple

While the duke, 40, is in for a fun festive season at his Montecito mansion in California with his wife Meghan Markle, 43, and their two children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, he is likely to feel some sadness at the fact he is not in the UK with the royals.

For the sixth year in a row, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are spending Christmas away from the Royal Family, instead planning an "extra special" celebration at home.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared a "peaceful" Christmas in Canada before their bitter royal exit just weeks later. The couple - who welcomed Prince Archie in May 2019 - spent their son's first Christmas tucked away in a Vancouver Island hideaway.

The couple have stepped out for multiple solo engagements in recent months, with Markle most recently dancing with pals at a haircare launch.

Prince Harry has a Christmas plan on the calendar with Scotty's Little Soldiers. All about the Duke of Sussex's upcoming event with bereaved military children.

Is there something going on that fans don’t know about? That’s what many royal critics on both sides of the aisle are asking as it seems like Prince Harry might be planning to pull the plug on his marriage to Meghan Markle as soon as Christmas.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be celebrating Christmas with their two children, Archie and Lilibet, in Montecito, California, but the festive season will be 'bittersweet' for the couple