Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won't be spending Christmas with the royal family this year

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently living in Santa Barbara with their one year old son, Archie Harrison, after stepping away from the royal family earlier this year.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to settle in Montecito after spending time in Los Angeles, as US Weekly previously claimed that Harry 'hated' LA and Meghan has always liked the quiet seaside town.

While Harry revealed that he would have loved to return to the UK this year, the coronavirus outbreak put a stop to his travel plans.

And although there have been reports that the Duke will travel home in the next few weeks, a source has told Vanity Fair that the couple may not be making the trip overseas this side of Christmas.

The insider said: 'Global travel has been made very complicated by the coronavirus pandemic and at the moment the Duke has no plans to travel back to the UK, certainly not before Christmas.

'The problem is if he comes over then he has to quarantine and that makes things quite difficult.'

It means that Harry and Meghan are likely to stay in the US for the festive season, instead of joining the Queen and other members of the royal family at Sandringham as is royal tradition.

But reports suggest that Harry is excited to have an 'American Christmas'.

Royal expert Katie Nicholl also wrote in the publication: 'Harry and Meghan are said to be looking forward to spending their first American Christmas together in their new Montecito home.'

The Sussexes are expected to return to the UK to attend their high court case, with the trial starting on 11th January 2021. As it stands, those entering the UK from the US must quarantine for 14 days, meaning that Harry and Meghan would be back on British soil for New Year's Eve.

A source told Newsweek: 'Had it not been for COVID and travel restrictions, they would have already been back in the UK — for things like Beatrice's wedding and Trooping of the Colour for example.

'It is worth also pointing out, that the trial date for the Mail on Sunday is set to start on January 11 at the High Court, London, which if nothing changes, will still require two week's self-isolation before it starts.'

Last year, before the couple announced their decision to step away from the royal family, they took a six week break from mid-November to January and chose to spend Christmas with Archie in Canada.