Stephanie Petit is a Royals Writer and Reporter at PEOPLE.
Meghan Markle has happy memories of her first Christmas with the royal family.
In the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex recalled the first time she spent the holidays with Prince Harry‘s family at Sandringham in 2017, ahead of their royal wedding.
"I remember so vividly the first Christmas at Sandringham," Meghan, 41, said. "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," she added. "And there was just this constant movement and energy and fun."
At dinner, Meghan sat next to “H’s grandfather,” Prince Philip — and thought their conversation went well.
“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,’ ” she recalled — although she said that Prince Harry later informed her that she “had his bad ear,” meaning Prince Philip likely couldn’t hear their entire chat.
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Meghan said, "I was like, 'Oh — well, I thought it went really well.' "
Following the holiday celebrations, Prince Harry told BBC Radio 4 that Christmas with his bride-to-be was “fantastic.” “She really enjoyed it,” he said in 2017. “The family loved having her there.”
Meghan’s appearance was a departure from typical protocol, as unmarried partners of royals had previously not been invited to Sandringham for the big day. (As Prince William‘s fiancée back in 2010, Kate Middleton did not attend Christmas services with him.)
Following their May 2018 wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan headed to Sandringham for a traditional royal Christmas again that December. At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were expecting their first child, and son Archie Harrison was born in May 2019.
In 2019, the couple decided to spend their first holiday season as a family of three privately in Canada.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month,” Buckingham Palace said in a November 2019 statement. “Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, Their Royal Highnesses will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the Duchess’ mother Doria Ragland. This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the Royal Family, and has the support of Her Majesty The Queen.”
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In January 2020, Meghan and Prince Harry announced their intention to step back as working members of the royal family. They relocated to Meghan’s home state of California later that year, staying in Tyler Perry’s Los Angeles home before buying a home in Montecito.
Meghan and Prince Harry spent their first Christmas as a family of four last year, having welcomed daughter Lilibet Diana in June.
"This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a 'Mama' and a 'Papa', and Lili made us a family. As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families — from those being relocated from Afghanistan, to American families in need of paid parental leave," they said in their holiday card.
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