They were home for the holidays. 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle enjoyed a quiet Christmas in California with children Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3 — despite reports they were invited to spend the festive season with relatives in the UK. 

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told The Mirror: “Harry and Meghan were invited for Christmas at Althorp with thrice-married [Princess Diana’s brother] Uncle Charles, now Earl Spencer, but decided to stay in California.”

“Meghan says it’s important for her that Archie and Lilibet can have ‘connective memories’ of Thanksgiving and Christmas at home and enjoy the traditions like putting out ‘carrots for the reindeer,” Sewartd stated.

However, Harry and Meghan reportedly enjoyed the day with the actress’s mother Doria at their Montecito home. 

As for Prince Harry’s kin, all working members of the royal family congregated in St. Mary Magdalene Church on Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on Christmas Day.

King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 77, who have attended morning mass at Sandringham Churchannually on Christmas for years, were joined by Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

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Meghan Markle recently divulged a charming Christmas tradition her and Prince Harry's two kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, partake in each year.

Speaking with Marie Claire last month, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, said that the family puts out "carrots for the reindeer" every Christmas Eve.

Meghan also revealed that Christmas has become a little more magical for her family now that Archie and Lili have gotten a little older -- the young royals are 5 and 3, respectively.

"At first, I think as a mum with children you're just enjoying having them there but they're not understanding everything that's happening yet," she shared.

"But now we're at the age where I just can't wait to see it through their lens every year."

She added, "Every single holiday is a new adventure,"

Prince William's beard is one of the many ways the royal family looked visibly different this Christmas, as pointed out by royal watchers on social media.

William, 42, has appeared with a beard on occasion in years past, but his recent scruff has been notable because of how consistently he has worn it, to say nothing of how it has represented a break with tradition and the public divide it's evoked.

This year's Christmas morning church visit to St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham was the first time William has had a beard on the festive occasion — one of the biggest days in the year for fans of the royal family.

One post on X showed a side by side of a clean-shaven Prince of Wales with his family in 2023 and the more whiskered Windsor and the Waleses in 2024, noting, "What a difference a year can make!"

What a difference a year can make!

◇ Prince William in a beard.
◇ Princess Kate regaining her health back after cancer treatment.
◇ The kids growing super fast.

But mostly, the Wales Family looking happy & healthy ♥️#Christmas

2023 2024 pic.twitter.com/W7RCNtBTx4

— Prie 🥀 (@RoyalDelhiite) December 25, 2024

As ever, the beard divided commenters. "Digging the beard," wrote one, while another replied, "[W]illiam isn't doing himself any favours with that beard."

Kate Middleton made a rare comment about her cancer battle while meeting members of the public on Christmas Day.

The Princess of Wales, 42, stopped to speak with well-wishers gathered in Sandringham on Wednesday hoping to greet members of the royal family as they walked to and from a Christmas morning service at St. Mary Magdalene church.

One of those she spoke with was Rachel Anvil, 24, a worker at Cambridge’s Royal Papworth Hospital, part of Britain’s National Health Service, who began her career in a cancer unit.

Princess Kate, who spent much of 2024 battling an undisclosed form of cancer, shared her gratitude toward health care professionals for doing the “hard work” by helping cancer patients as they fight the disease.

“I started my career in the Macmillan cancer unit, and I just wanted to say, you’re an inspiration to all the patients,” Rachel told Kate in a video Anvil’s mother, Karen, posted on Instagram.

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Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla were twinning on Christmas.

The Princess of Wales, 42, and the Queen, 77, wore matching outfits for the royal family's traditional Christmas Day walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate.

Middleton had on a green Alexander McQueen coat with a matching fascinator and scarf and accessorized with black gloves and boots, while Camilla wore her own green winter coat with a matching fascinator.

They were joined by their respective husbands, Prince William and King Charles III, on the walk.

Middleton and William's kids Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, were apart of the cherished Christmas tradition, as well.

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Kate Middleton cracked a joke in the midst of the royal family's annual Christmas Day walk to church.

The Princess of Wales, 42, stopped on the walkabout to St. Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on Wednesday to talk to fans.

During one interaction, Middleton joked to one well-wisher, "I seem to have lost my family!"

Her husband, Prince William, and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, were ahead of her on the walk but waited for her to finish chatting with the crowd, according to the Daily Mail.

Middleton joined the rest of the royal family for the traditional event after battling cancer this year.

She wore a forest green Alexander McQueen coat with a matching fascinator and scarf.