Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have “no plans” to spend Christmas with the Royal Family as relations hit “near rock bottom” following news of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir.
The highly anticipated book, billed as a book of “raw, unflinching honesty”, will be published in the new year.
The memoir is titled Spare, a reference to the phrase the “the heir and the spare” and will be released globally on January 10.
It was expected to hit bookshelves this autumn but there has been speculation that the date was pushed back as a mark of respect following the death of the Queen, and it is rumoured to make changes to the publication and remove potentially damaging material.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Oli Scarff
King Charles III
Kirsty O'Connor
But Buckingham Palace is still likely to be steeling itself for revelations that could be detrimental to the monarchy and the duke’s father Charles, now King and in the early stages of his reign.
The memoir will be published by Penguin Random House, which said in a press release: “Spare takes readers immediately back to one of the most searing images of the 20th century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow – and horror.
“As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling – and how their lives would play out from that point on.
“For Harry, this is his story at last.
“With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.”
And ahead of the book’s release, the Duke and Duchess will not visit the Royal Family at Christmas, according to the Mirror.
The report added that the relationship between the pair and the rest of the royals, is at “near rock bottom”, and Harry will snub a Christmas invite from the King.
The Mirror quoted a source as saying: “This book could spell the end for any relationship Harry wants to have with his family, it’s desperately sad.
“Everyone is bracing themselves for yet another fraught and frantic period at the mercy of the Sussexes."