Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released their own Christmas card

It may not be a family portrait, like Prince William and Kate Middleton's recent Christmas card, but Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have released their festive card - and fans believe they could be trying to send a message.

It has been a busy month for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following the release of their highly anticipated Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan, with mixed reactions from fans and the media. However, it was the first time they got to tell their story, in their words - and we particularly loved hearing about the couple's first date. 

But it's back to business with Harry and Meghan's Christmas card, which shows a black and white picture of the couple when they attended the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Awards this month, along with a message from them and their businesses. 

Instead of a new photoshoot of the pair, as Kate and William did for their Christmas card, the pair decided to use an already public photo of them along with the below message.

“From our family to yours, and on behalf of our teams at The Archewell Foundation, Archewell Audio, and Archewell Productions, we wish you health, peace, and a very happy new year!”

The card was signed off by 'Prince Harry and Meghan', along with their royal titles 'The Duke and Duchess of Sussex'. Discussions around their royal titles picked up after the release of their documentary, where Harry said he had asked his father for permission to relocate and would be willing to give up any titles if it meant he could leave the UK. 

During the clip, he alleges that he had offered to relinquish his titles in a proposal to his father, the then-Prince Charles, details of which were later published in The Times. He claimed: "It became clear that the institution leaked the fact that we were going to move back to Canada and the key piece of that story that made me aware that the contents of the letter between me and my father had been leaked was that we were willing to relinquish our Sussex titles. 

"That was the giveaway. I was like, 'Wow, like our story, our life literally got taken from underneath us.'"

Some royal fans and commentators have claimed that the inclusion of their titles in the Christmas card could indicate that they wish to retain them. 

Experts have said that the royal family is likely "despairing" over the documentary, in which Harry claimed there was "institutional gaslighting" that goes on behind the scenes in the royal Firm, and that they were happy to lie in order to protect his brother, Prince William. 

Meghan Markle also said that she was 'thrown to the wolves' when it came to the paparazzi and how the royal family didn't intervene. 

Jennie Bond, a royal expert, told OK! magazine last week: "The three words that come to mind when I consider how the Royal Family must be feeling during the run up to the release of the next three episodes are despairing, dismayed and disappointed."

The Palace has not yet commented publicly on the documentary.