Meghan Markle was allowed to break one royal Christmas tradition, one which was never broken by Princess Kate nor Zara Tindall. In 2017, Meghan joined Prince Harry for her first royal Christmas at the Sandringham estate.
Speaking after the event, Harry previously revealed that he and Meghan stayed with the now-Prince and Princess of Wales during the festive period.
At the time, the pair had been dating for just over a year and had announced their engagement the previous month.
Although she was engaged to Prince Harry, Meghan broke tradition by having her first royal Christmas before their wedding day.
It is understood that traditionally partners don’t join the royals for Christmas until the December after they were married.
In keeping with the tradition, Kate Middleton and Mike Tindall both experienced their first royal Christmas after they wed their royal partners.
Princess Anne’s daughter Zara was only joined by her husband Mike in December 2011, five months after getting married in Scotland.
Princess Kate also experienced her first royal Christmas in Norfolk in 2011, the same year that she married Prince William.
Just a few days after Meghan’s first royal Christmas, Harry guest-edited BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
Speaking of the festive season, Harry described it as “fantastic”, adding that Meghan “really enjoyed it”.
Harry added: “The family loved having her there. 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.”
Meghan also recalled her first royal Christmas in the couple’s Netflix docuseries, which was released last year.
Speaking on their Netflix series, which was released in two parts, Meghan said: “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.'”
Calling it an event with a “big family like I always wanted”, Meghan said: “And there was just this constant movement and energy and fun.”
