We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Queen Elizabeth II made an unprecedented exception for Meghan Markle at Christmas in 2017, only a month after Prince Harry had proposed to his girlfriend of around one year. The Royal Family have spent their Christmases at Sandringham for decades and invitations are typically reserved for family only, meaning partners only get an invite after the wedding. However, the late monarch broke that tradition for the first time for Harry’s fiancée. According to columnist and royal expert Richard Kay, Meghan being invited was a “rare exception”.
He told Channel 5’s 2021 documentary Harry and Meghan Vs The Monarchy: “Talk about a baptism of fire. Here was a rare exception being made. Kate Middleton was not invited as William’s girlfriend to spend Christmas at Sandringham with the royals. But here was Meghan doing just that.”
Kate, Princess of Wales did not spend Christmas at Sandringham until December 2011 — after her wedding to Prince William. Famously, Sarah Ferguson, affectionately known as Fergie, was ousted from the family Christmas after her divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996.
Her banishment from the royal festivities was understood to be led by Prince Philip, who reportedly could not stand to have his former daughter-in-law at the family celebration.
Grant Harrold, who was butler to the Prince of Wales from 2004-2011, noted the significance of Meghan’s invitation. He told the documentary: “The Queen is very strict when it comes to family, and so to be invited was quite a significant thing. I’m sure Meghan Markle was absolutely terrified.”
READ MORE: Queen ‘cancer revelation approved by royals to avoid Harry book bombshell’
The Queen made a ‘rare exception’ for Meghan early on in her relationship with Harry (Image: Getty Images)
The Duchess of Sussex joined the Royal Family at Sandringham in 2017 (Image: Getty)
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s relationship enabled the Duke of Sussex to “transition” outside of the institution of monarchy which made him feel trapped, according to a historian.
Dr Tessa Dunlop, author of the newly-released Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy, compared the union of late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Read more HERE
Given previous royal wives and girlfriends being snubbed of Christmas invitations, this “extraordinary special treatment” may have “annoyed” other members of the family.
Royal commentator Ashley Pearson told Channel 5: “This extraordinary special treatment could have possibly annoyed other members of the family. Perhaps Andrew and Sarah, because Sarah Ferguson had famously been not invited to spend Christmas there when her daughters and ex-husband were there.”
Last year, it was thought that Fergie would be brought in from the cold, but according to reports, the Duchess remained at Royal Lodge, the home she shares with her ex-husband. She spent her first Christmas as a grandmother alone while her family had lunch with the Queen, three miles away at Windsor Castle. Fergie has reportedly been invited to this year’s Christmas celebrations.
Anjula Muntanda, a relationship psychologist, also argued that Meghan’s initial treatment may have rubbed some royals the wrong way. She told the documentary: “Maybe a few people might have felt that their noses were put out of joint because they’ve had to work so hard with the protocol and the rules and the regulations. And here enters Meghan and is straight into Sandringham. I think it would have been a very diplomatic line that she would have had to walk.” 
Meghan was the first royal fiancée to join the family at Christmas (Image: Getty)
Fergie was famously ousted from the royal Christmases after her divorce (Image: Getty)
Regardless, the former actress’ first Christmas with the Royal Family is said to have gone well, with the future Duchess of Sussex even impressing when it came to the challenge of gift-giving.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Royal Family have a tradition of avoiding luxury when it comes to exchanging Christmas presents. According to Mr Kay, “the cheaper the gift, the better it is”.
He continued: “Harry once gave his grandmother a pair of rubber gloves for doing the dishes — I mean, really quite bizarre presents. Meghan would have found that as extraordinary as a certain Diana Spencer on her first Christmas buying lavish gifts for her in-laws. She never made that mistake again.”
Unlike her late mother-in-law, Meghan gave an impressive performance that Christmas. Simon Vigar, royal correspondent for 5 News, said: “Meghan played a blinder on her first Christmas. She got a toy — a singing hamster — for the Queen and apparently she loved it…and so did the corgis.” 
The Queen traditionally spent Christmas at Sandringham (Image: Getty)
Harry and Meghan spent the next Christmas with the royals, again travelling to Sandringham for the annual celebrations. However, in 2019, they went against tradition when they chose to spend the festive season in Canada with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
The Duke and Duchess announced their plans to take a six-week break in North America following an extensive tour of Australia, Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand. They travelled across the pond to spend their first Christmas with their son away from their home in Windsor.
When they returned to the UK in the new year, the couple shocked the nation when they announced they were stepping back from their royal duties, later confirming they would be stepping down entirely and moving overseas. Since then, Harry and Meghan have spent their Christmases in the US.
Meanwhile, the royal Christmas at Sandringham continued. However, last year and the year before, the Queen had to break her Christmas traditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spent Christmas in the US since their exit (Image: Getty)
Her Majesty was forced to cancel lunch at Sandringham, which has been celebrated at the estate since 1988. Last December marked the monarch’s first Christmas without her husband Prince Philip, and this December will mark the Royal Family’s first Christmas without their matriarch.
It is understood that King Charles III will spend the holiday at Sandringham, making a return to his late mother’s much-loved home. While the guestlist has not been confirmed, it is likely that the King and Queen Consort will be joined by their wider family.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are usually among those gathered.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to remain in California for Christmas, expected to spend it at home with their two young children — Archie and Lilibet.
See today’s front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive.