Judging from the wealth of “no sh-t Sherlock” royal stories coming out in recent days, I feel strongly that Buckingham Palace courtiers did a major briefing for the royal rota during Thanksgiving week (here in America). There were widespread confirmations that Prince William and Kate would “join the king” for Christmas in Norfolk, and confirmations that Prince Andrew was also welcome at Sandringham. As long as palace courtiers were confirming royal Christmas plans, why not also suggest to Richard Eden that the Sussexes “would be welcomed back” if they gave up everything they have in America. And of course, until that happens, the Sussexes are never going to be invited to spend Christmas at Sandringham:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be joining the royal family for Christmas at Sandringham this year.

A source tells PEOPLE that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not received an invitation to this year’s royal Christmas gathering at Sandringham. The couple, who are expected to spend the holidays in the U.S., haven’t taken part in Christmas with the royal family since 2018, the year they married.

Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, were also not invited to Trooping the Colour in June of this year, the annual birthday celebration for King Charles, which came a month after Harry and his father didn’t meet up when the Duke of Sussex was in the U.K. for the tenth-anniversary celebration of the Invictus Games. At the time, a spokesperson for Prince Harry attributed the missed reunion to the King’s “full schedule,” amid ongoing tensions between Harry and both his father, Charles, and his older brother, Prince William.

Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton, and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are set to spend Christmas at Sandringham, though both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace (where the Prince and Princess of Wales’ office is located) declined to comment on the Christmas guest list.

[From People]

While this is not a surprise – King Charles hasn’t invited the Sussexes to any holiday or birthday party since his reign began – it’s worth pointing out how all of this is obviously coming from the same series of palace briefings. In the same briefing, they confirmed that Charles invited Andrew and the Yorks to Sandringham, because Charles’s rationale is that Christmas is a family holiday and it’s all a “private celebration.” Yet when a potential olive branch could have been offered to the Sussexes using the same private/family rationale, it’s rejected. For reasons! Follow my train of thought here: I’ve always been shocked by Charles’s inability to manipulate the Sussex situation into his favor. He could publicly invite the Sussexes and say, on the record, that he would love nothing more than to see Archie and Lili for Christmas. Then, if the Sussexes reject his invitation, they would look like a–holes and Charles would look like the magnanimous grandfather who just wanted to put pettiness aside for the holidays. Instead, Charles looks petty and hateful. As always.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.