Meghan Markle continues to make history.
Not only is the “Suits” star the first woman of colour, the first television actress and the first divorcee to marry into Britain’s royal family (not including Wallis Simpson, whose marriage to King Edward VIII could only take place after he abdicated the throne), Markle will also become the first royal fiancee to spend the Christmas holidays with the Queen at Sandringham.
As Britain’s Sunday Times reports, Markle, 36, will join fiance Prince Harry, 33, as he and the rest of the royals open presents on Christmas Eve before she becomes an official member of the Royal Family upon the couple’s wedding in the spring.
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According to the Times, the holiday festivities will also include a formal black-tie dinner, a full English breakfast on Christmas morning and a pheasant shoot, with the couple expected to join the Queen from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day, at which point they will leave for a holiday abroad (which will include spending some time with Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, in California).
“Now they are engaged it was unthinkable that they would be apart for Christmas,” a friend of the prince tells the Times. “The royal family have fully welcomed Meghan into the fold.”
The Times also reports that the couple will likely stay with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two children at Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate, joining the Queen and other members of the royal family each day.
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According to royal tradition, the family will gather on Christmas Eve for tea with the Queen, with the younger royals encouraged to add some decorations to the Christmas tree in the white drawing room.
This is followed by an exchange of gifts, and then a black-tie dinner. Christmas morning begins with a full English breakfast before the royal family attends Christmas Day services at St. Mary Magdalene Church (located on the estate) before returning to Sandringham House for a Christmas lunch.
In the afternoon, everyone will come together to watch the Queen’s annual Christmas television broadcast, which is expected to include the Queen offering her congratulations to Harry and his bride-to-be.
Boxing Day is traditionally centred around a pheasant shoot, to take place on the estate; according to the Times, Markle is “unlikely to join in” as she is “thought to be opposed to blood sports.”
