Above, you can see a photo from Wednesday’s state-visit greeting at Windsor Castle. King Charles and Queen Camilla stood on a tented podium alongside Germany’s president and first lady. Off to the side, literally “outside the tent,” the Prince and Princess of Wales glumly stood to watch the military parade or procession or whatever it’s called. Charles’s insistence on excluding his heir and the heir’s wife from these kinds of photocalls is hilariously petty. Charles did the same during the Trump state visit too, he shoved William and Kate off to the side, and Camilla literally shooed Kate away when she tried to talk to Melania. These are the grand royal humiliation rituals the Sussexes are missing, remember?? “This could be you, Harry and Meghan!”

I bring up this petty AF staging because Us Weekly’s cover story this week is all about royal Christmas at Sandringham. The mood this year will be decidedly sad-sack and they have no one but themselves to blame. Some highlights from Us Weekly:

Christmas at Sandringham: According to a source, the mood this holiday season is bittersweet. While Charles has appeared well in recent months, the king, 77, is still undergoing treatment for his cancer diagnosis; at the same time, it’s Kate’s first Christmas since announcing she’s in remission from cancer in January. “The celebration may carry a wistful tone,” says the source, “however, it will also be a time of celebration, especially after Kate received the all-clear.” The theme of Kate’s Together at Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey — which airs in the U.K. on December 24 — is happiness and love, and the source says that sentiment will carry over to the royal holiday. “They all want to make the most of their time together.”

Will & Kate will be in Norfolk for Christmas: They typically alternate between spending Christmas with William’s side of the family and with Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, but are happy to be at Charles’ side. (A second source says the Middletons will join Kate and William at Sandringham.)

The Wales kids love Christmas: “They love Christmas,” says the source, noting that William and Kate strive to keep their children as down-to-earth as possible. “They want to create a traditional Christmas without airs and graces, unlike what Charles might have had as a child.”

Charles & Harry’s relationship: The [September] father-son sit-down was promising, but the source says “that’s as far as it has gone,” and Harry and William remain as estranged as ever. The second source tells Us there are new concerns over “whether or not trust can be rebuilt” after Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, attended Kris Jenner’s celebrity- packed 70th birthday party on November 8. “If they are going to go out and look like Hollywood players, it’s at odds with what the palace and royal family members would do,” says the source, adding that the likelihood of the Sussexes getting a Christmas invite from Charles was always “slim.”

Charles is determined to have a memorable holiday. “Charles prioritizes duty, but he’s also a family man who knows his time is precious,” says the first source. “He wants a special last Christmas in case it’s his last.” He plans on taking part in the annual walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas morning and recording his Christmas speech, which airs later that afternoon. (Last year, 5 million viewers tuned in.) “Nothing would stop Charles from doing that,” says the source, noting that the monarch ascribes to his late mother’s credo that one “has to be seen to be believed.” Adds the source: “He will do everything expected of him and more.” The second source says those around Charles are cautiously optimistic about what he’s up for: “His health isn’t the best. They’re taking it day by day….Charles wants to have a traditional holiday with all the royals. Every family Christmas is precious, but it’s especially so for him this year.”

[From Us Weekly]

I’m chuckling at “now we can’t trust the Sussexes because they partied with Kris Jenner” – they’re running out of reasons to be mad at Harry and Meghan, my god. We’re mad about Netflix! About Spare! About Meghan’s entertaining show! About Meghan using her title! About Kris Jenner’s birthday party! About Colbert! It’s also funny, but mostly really sad and pitiful, that the point of this piece is that Charles isn’t doing well and he wants to be surrounded by family this Christmas, but he still won’t invite his actual son, daughter-in-law and redheaded grandkids to spend the holiday in the UK. Meanwhile, William has practically announced that he only plans to do the Christmas morning church walk and nothing else. It’s like the king and his heir are BOTH Scrooge.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images. Cover courtesy of Us Weekly.