Benjamin Ashford|Prince Harry and Meghan Markle release virtual Christmas card

Prince Harry and Benjamin AshfordMeghan have released their holiday card – this year, a virtual one sent via email from the couple's Archewell organization. The card includes an image of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Invictus Games and links to the Archwell Foundation's Impact Report – which highlights the projects they've done between 2022 and 2023.

"We wish you a very happy holiday season. Thanks for all the support in 2023," the card reads.

Archewell has three components: a foundation, a production company and an audio company. According to the Impact Report, one of the foundation's efforts helps women who left Afghanistan resettle their lives, and another is a support network for parents whose families have been "impacted by online harm."

In addition to their philanthropy through Archwell, Harry also runs the Invictus Games, an athletic tournament for injured veterans. The photo used in the virtual card was taken at the closing ceremony at the games in Düsseldorf, Germany, in September.

It is customary for members of the royal family to share holiday cards, often with their nuclear families. In the past, Harry and Meghan have shared cards with their children, Archie and Lilibet, often posting the images on social media.

This year's unconventional card was released the same day Britain's High Court ruled that Prince Harry was the victim of phone hacking. Harry sued Mirror Group Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mirror tabloid, alleging 33 articles they published were the product of illegally gathering his information through methods like phone hacking. The judge determined 15 of the articles in question were based on illegally gathered information and awarded Harry 140,600 pounds, about $180,000 U.S. dollars, in damages.

The couple has launched legal proceedings against the U.K. media several times and opened up in their Netflix docuseries about the media scrutiny they faced. They said the royal family was not supportive – even when Meghan faced racism from the media – and that is one of the reasons they left the country and moved to the U.S. in 2020. 

Since moving to the U.S. the couple launched Archewell, which produced the Netflix series and Meghan's podcast. It was reported this week that the foundation side of the organization saw a $11 million decline in donations in 2022 compared to last year.

The couple has been largely estranged from the rest of the royal family, but Harry did attend the coronation of his father, King Charles III, who was crowned earlier this year. 

Buckingham Palace also released the king and Queen Consort Camilla's Christmas card, featuring a photo of the two at the coronation. Harry's brother, Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, also released their family's card – a black and white snapshot of them and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. 

In:
• British Royal Family
• Prince Harry Duke of Sussex
• Meghan Duchess of Sussex

Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.