From 2020 through 2024, we were regaled with an annual royal storyline about the Windsors “snubbing” the Sussexes for Christmas. There were always snooty courtiers ready to huff and puff about how QEII refused to invite them for Christmas (for reasons!) and then, as of 2022, King Charles was simply too proud, too angry, too set in his ways to invite his son and grandchildren to Christmas at Sandringham. That is the most important part of the royal story: the Windsors are the ones doing the snubbing, and the insinuation is always that Harry and Meghan were clearly begging to come to Sandringham, and they’re dreadfully disappointed to not get an invitation. The point is to make it sound like the most coveted invitation in the world, when really, royal Christmas always sounds like a giant pain in the ass.

Well, this year was different. There were only some mutterings here and there that the Sussexes weren’t invited, but it was never blown out into the annual story it used to be. So it’s interesting that People Magazine is now confirming, apropos of nothing, that the Sussexes will be in Montecito for Christmas.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are having a California Christmas this year. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to celebrate the holiday in Montecito with their children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4. The family will remain at home for Christmas as Harry wraps a brief pre-holiday trip to Aspen, Hello! reports. Harry stood in for a friend to take part in the World Snow Polo Championships in the Colorado city.

PEOPLE has reached out to a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.

Meanwhile, King Charles and the rest of the royal family are set to continue their long-standing tradition of spending Christmas at Sandringham, the royal estate in Norfolk. There, the family exchanges gag gifts on Christmas Eve before making a public walk to church on Christmas morning.

The update comes three months after Harry reunited with his father for the first time in 19 months — a meeting that prompted speculation about whether the Duke of Sussex might spend Christmas with the royal family. However, Harry has said his ongoing security concerns in the U.K. make him reluctant to bring Meghan and their children overseas without official protection.

[From People]

I actually have two theories. Theory #1: if Charles was at death’s door, there would have been more energy towards “is Harry coming for Christmas/is Charles snubbing his ginger son on Christmas?” Charles coming out and saying that he’s doing better than expected has changed the game and given Harry more time to see his father at a more organic pace, and I think the security review is part of that as well. Theory #2: The Sussexes were happy to sit back and be reactive on this matter, and they were probably waiting to see if Buckingham Palace or Kensington Palace would run the same “snubbed for Christmas” story again. That would have given the Sussexes the opportunity to say “actually, we always planned to be in California, f–k Sandringham.” But those stories never came… possibly because Charles told his courtiers to cool it? So that’s why People Mag got the nod to run this confirmation.

These are photos of Harry from Aspen on Thursday – his team lost in the final! Harry carried an enormous American flag after the game??? No, it’s an optical illusion, but it’s a good one!

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.