Kensington Palace has confirmed Suits actress Meghan Markle will spend Christmas at Sandringham with the Queen and other senior members of the Royal Family. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their whirlwind engagement last month and recently confirmed the royal wedding will be on May 19, 2018. According to Kensington Palace, the couple is expected to attend the traditional Christmas Day church service on the Queen’s private estate in Norfolk where they will also spend Christmas Day. Spending the holidays with your future in-laws may seem like nothing out of the ordinary for a typical engaged couple, but among the royals, it’s a complete veer from tradition.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are breaking the rules in more ways than one. First, the newly engaged couple was all about holding hands and showing affection unlike the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did pre-marriage. Now they’ll visit the Queen for Christmas even though it’s against traditional protocol for the fiance to spend time with the Royal Family before marriage; Meghan will be the first. Even Prince William and Kate Middleton spent Christmas apart due to this technicality, even though they were engaged that November.
Myka Meier, the founder, and director of Beaumont Etiquette told People magazine that a statement is being made with these breaks in tradition. “To show PDA as a representative of the British monarchy at such an official event says everything! Rarely in the past have we seen unmarried royals showing PDA with significant others at a public event.” There’s no official rule restricting PDA, however, it’s well-known that royals usually refrain from showing such affection while on official engagements. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, on the other hand, have felt no pressure to hold back from showing their affection for one another. Now Meghan is changing the rules on meeting her future royal family, too. Harry shared in their engagement interview that not only did Ms. Markle meet Queen Elizabeth on a few occasions, but his new fiance also managed to win over his grandmother’s beloved canines, too: “The corgis took to her straight away. I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at — this one walks in, absolutely nothing.”
It looks like Meghan has won over the Queen already. The actress has been an exception to quite a few traditions among the royal family and they don’t appear to be bothered by it. A family friend told People magazine that the Queen has a soft spot for Harry, and therefore, for Markle: “If Harry asks for something, the Queen would say yes as she adores him.”
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As for the rest of the family, it’s been more warm welcomes and support all around. Harry shared in the interview that “William was longing to meet her and so was Catherine,” and said, “Catherine has been absolutely amazing, as has William as well, you know, fantastic support.” The couple also confirmed that Markle has met Harry’s father, Prince Charles for a few teas and meetings as well as social gatherings. “The family together have been a solid support and my grandparents as well have been wonderful throughout this whole process and they’ve known for quite some time,” shared Harry. “Now the whole family have come together and have been a huge amount of support.”
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According to tradition, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, along with the Royal Family, will attend the morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day where hundreds of well-wishers usually gather en route to catch a glimpse of the Queen and Royal Family. Some of the younger members of the family will speak to the public and receive gifts. In addition to attending church with the Royal Family on Christmas morning, Ms. Markle will spend the festivities as a guest of Queen Elizabeth. That means the actress will share Christmas lunch with the Royals before watching the Queen’s Christmas Day address in the afternoon. Similar to German tradition, the family will exchange presents on Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas Day at the Queen’s Sandringham House in Norfolk.
It has been suggested that Prince William and Kate Middleton will then host the newly engaged couple at Anmer Hall, which is on the estate about two miles from the main house. That means not only will Meghan be spending the holidays with her future brother and sister-in-law, but she’ll also likely get to spend Christmas morning with Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Don’t you just love the holidays!
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