In a highly unusual move, Kensington Palace has confirmed that Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s fiancé, will attend Christmas Day celebrations with the queen at her country estate, Sandringham House.
The royal press operation has never previously confirmed in advance where the principal members of the royal family will be at Christmas, arguing that such information is private, even though the queen’s role as head of the church and defender of the faith has led others to argue it is a working day for her and other members of the family.
It will be interesting to see whether more than the 3,000 members of the public who turned out to see Kate on her first Christmas church appearance will materialize for Meghan.
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Christmas with the future in-laws will be an eye opening insight for Meghan into some of the family’s more eccentric habits, including the fact that gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve (gifts are laid out on tables in the Red Drawing Room by staff in accordance with the Germanic heritage of the royals) thereby leaving Christmas Day itself free for lots of God, duty, and walking.
The queen hosts a relatively frugal Christmas lunch—lasting under an hour—and there is a complete ban on watching any TV other than the Queen’s Speech.
The queen splits off from her family and watches her address on her own.
Additionally, children are not allowed to join the adults for any meals at Sandringham until they are 11 or 12, eating instead in a separate room, and this is thought to have been a deciding factor in Kate’s decision to skip the lunch in previous years.
