Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are thought to have told friends that they are "not ready" to return to the UK for a Royal family Christmas.
The couple, who relocated to Santa Barbara, California, where they took out a £7.4million mortgage on a nine-bed house, are reluctant to return ahead of the festive period.
If they choose to stay away, it will be the second year in a row that they have spent Christmas away from the Queen and the rest of the royals, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
After Meghan and Harry announced their engagement in November 2017, Meghan was invited to spend Christmas with Harry and his family and appeared at the traditional Christmas Day church service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen’s Norfolk
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