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In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II and her family were joined by the latest addition to the Windsor family for their annual Christmas gathering at the monarch's Sandringham Estate in England—Prince Harry's new fiancée, Meghan Markle.
As the royals were photographed attending the traditional church service at the estate's St. Mary Magdalene Church on December 25, they were joined by Meghan, providing the public with the chance to see her for the first time standing shoulder to shoulder with future in-laws, William and Kate.
The event marked a break with the usual rigidly adhered-to royal routine, in that Meghan was the first fiancée to receive a Christmas invite from Queen Elizabeth, with Princess Diana, Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, Sophie the Duchess of Edinburgh and Kate all waiting until they were married to make their first festive royal appearance.
The royal family's Christmas traditions see them gather at Sandringham in the days before December 25. The property held special significance to Queen Elizabeth.
Sandringham was purchased by Queen Victoria in 1862 for her eldest son Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII). It is the personal property of the monarch and therefore does not belong to the state, like Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
In 1952, King George VI (Queen Elizabeth's father) died at Sandringham and the queen regularly stayed at the house to mark the anniversary of his death, and subsequently her accession.
Among the traditions, the royal family open their presents on Christmas Eve and hold a large family lunch on Christmas Day.
Meghan has rarely spoken about her royal Christmas experiences—she attended the Sandringham events twice, in 2017 and 2018—but what she has said sheds some light into the family fun enjoyed behind palace walls.
'Constant Movement and Energy and Fun'
Meghan opened up about spending Christmas with the royals in the third episode of her Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries, which was released in December 2022.
Describing her first festive period spent with the family, she recalled the "constant movement and energy and fun" at Sandringham. She also told viewers that at dinner she had been seated next to Harry's grandfather, Prince Philip, who "chatted" throughout the evening.
Meghan Markle, Harry & Meghan, Episode 3
"I remember so vividly the first Christmas at Sandringham. Calling my mom, and she's like, 'How's it going?' And I said, 'Oh my gosh, it's amazing.' It's just like a big family like I always wanted. And there was just this constant movement and energy and fun. At dinner, I was sat next to H's grandfather [Prince Philip] and I just thought it was so wonderful. And I was like, 'Oh, we chatted and it was so great. And I talked about this, and talked about this.' He was like, 'You had his bad ear. He couldn't hear anything you were saying.' I was like, 'Oh. Well, I thought it went really well.'"
What Prince Harry Said About Meghan Markle's First Royal Christmas
Between Christmas and New Year in 2017, Prince Harry guest-edited an episode of BBC Radio 4's Today show which featured interviews with former U.S. President Barack Obama and the prince's father, King Charles III (at the time Prince of Wales).
In a segment in which he was interviewed, Harry revealed that he and Meghan had enjoyed spending Christmas with his family and were looking forward to 2018, the year the couple married at Windsor Castle on May 19.
Prince Harry, BBC Radio 4 Today show, December 27, 2017
"She really enjoyed it. The family loved having her there and you know, there's always that family part of Christmas, there's always that work element as well. And I think together we had an amazing time. We had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law, running around with the kids and Christmas was fantastic, and as I say, we're really looking forward to the New Year."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more