While you’ve probably been busy being excited about the release of seasonal menus and new winter clothing arrivals, you might’ve missed the recent announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be having their holiday season away from the royal family. The couple instead plans to visit Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, in the United States.
Courtesy: @byQueenVic Twitter
Typically, the Royal family stays together at the Queen’s estate in Sandringham, where Harry and Meghan have traveled to in the past two years. The holiday traditions, however, are anything but flexible and consist of firm plans.
On Christmas Eve, as per the tradition of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the family joins together in black-tie attire and exchanges small gifts (never anything extravagant at the Queen’s wishes).
Christmas day has a strict schedule that does not include the typical surprises of stocking stuffers or movies but does include an extravagant feast at approximately 1 p.m. of Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and Brussels sprouts with a dessert of Christmas pudding. And as said before, instead of watching holiday movies, the family can watch and only watch the pre-recorded Queen’s Speech at 3 p.m.
Next, the family pursues none other than a festive (and heated, I’m sure) game of Charades.
Finally, they feast again at 8:15 p.m. and go to bed only after the Queen, typically around midnight on Christmas Day.
Courtesy: Metro News
Going back to Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to skip the royal festivities for 2019, the choice, according to the family’s spokesperson, “is in line with the precedent set previously by other members of the royal family and has the support of Her Majesty the Queen.”
The couple has admitted that adjusting to the strict responsibilities and the heavy spotlight has been difficult. In the past, William and Kate spent Christmas away from the public eye in Bucklebury in 2012 and 2016. According to this trend, the draining effect of the royal lifestyle is not new.
And now the part of this that I’m sure you’re extra curious about, family drama.
According to The Sun, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex don’t plan to spend Thanksgiving with the rest of the crew either. The couple plans to take a six-week break after Sunday when Harry, 35, attends a Royal Albert Hall event.
The public has speculated that the couple may not be particularly close with the rest of the family, specifically with William and Kate. Harry vaguely addresses the matter in the 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.
“We’re certainly on different paths at the moment,” Harry admits. “I’ll always be there for him, and as I know, he’ll always be there for me. We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy, but I love him dearly.”
Courtesy: BBC News
Rumors are even rising to the surface that Harry and Meghan may be planning to move out of the British spotlight completely and relocate to the United States. According to Global News, the pressure is high enough that “members of the Royal Family have even taken legal action against British Tabloids”.
The holiday season as we know it wouldn’t be the most wonderful time of the year without seeing a little bit of drama, so in the meantime, as we wait for it to unfold, you can watch the recently released documentary that tells the grand love story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan An African Journey.
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