Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released their annual “holiday season” card, but fans of the Royal Family couldn’t help but notice a glaring omission.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unveiled the virtual greeting card through email on Friday 15 December.
Sent on behalf of their Archewell organisation, it featured a photo of the pair clapping their hands with beaming smiles on their faces.
Meghan, 42, can be seen wearing a gorgeous strapless green dress with her brunette mane tied back into a low bun.
Meanwhile, 39-year-old Prince Harry can be seen in a black suit with a matching shirt underneath.
The photo was taken during the closing ceremony of the 2023 Invictus Games, which took place in Germany.
“We wish you a very happy holiday season,” they wrote on the card. “Thanks for all the support in 2023!”
It also linked to the pair’s annual Archewell Foundation impact report, which had a video highlighting some of the work their most proud of from this year.
For all that was included in the card, there was one key thing missing that Royal fans couldn’t help but point out: their children.
Archie, four, and Lilibet, two, were both notably absent from the card.
One person even took to Facebook to question: “Isn’t Christmas about family, do they have children”.
The absence of the two little ones struck fans as odd after Harry’s brother Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton’s Christmas card had all three children included.
Instead of cringe Christmas jumpers, this year the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 41, opted for the entire family to wear white shirts with dark trousers.
Kate can be seen smiling from ear to ear with her hand wrapped around her 10-year-old son Prince George’s waist.
William, meanwhile, has a loving hand on their youngest child, five-year-old Prince Louis’ shoulder.
Princess Charlotte takes centre stage in the snap as she sits on a large black chair with one leg crossed over the other.
“Our family Christmas card for 2023,” they wrote on Instagram, followed by a Christmas tree and a red heart emoji.
And people took the opportunity to gush over the children with many in disbelief over how grown up they look.
One person wrote: “So beautiful [red heart emoji] George is so tall!! Charlotte a mini Queen Elizabeth.”
Another said: “Great family photo, can’t get over how quickly the children are growing up”.
While a third added: “Charlotte has the nobility and ladylikeness of the late Queen Elizabeth”.
Though Meghan and Harry did not include their children in their card, it’s not a complete surprise as they’ve been open about keeping them private before.
During an interview with The Cut, Meghan explained that she had a problem with the paparazzi attempting to take snaps of her kids.
“That doesn’t make me obsessed with privacy,” she explained. “That makes me a strong and good parent protecting my child.”
