I'm just quickly popping in with an update we've all been waiting for. As expected, Kensington Palace has confirmed Meghan Markle will spend Christmas with the Royal Family at Sandringham. A Palace spokesperson said:
"You can expect to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Ms Markle at Sandringham on Christmas Day."
In the past, the Palace has been notoriously reluctant to discuss Christmas plans. In a highly unusual move they revealed details for this year. I suspect given the level of media interest and number of reports on Meghan's Christmas plans, it warranted an official response. It's also the first time a royal fiancée has joined the family officially for the festivities. Indeed, in a Christmas treat for royalists, we will see the newly engaged couple make the walk to St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas morning (I expect holding hands). Several photo agencies will be there, so we can expect an abundance of photographs.
Victoria Murphy penned an interesting piece on what Meghan's attendance means for the Royal family:
'This love match between Prince Harry and the US actress has served to continually demonstrate that the royals are not quite the sticklers for tradition or convention that many imagined.
Their upcoming marriage is making the Royal Family more multicultural, has served to demonstrate that divorce is no longer an issue for them, and has shown that royal brides need not have an aristocratic or even affluent background to be deemed 'suitable'.
And now we see that supposed 'rules' about people being married into the firm before they are welcome at Sandringham at Christmas are also either being bent or were simply never as rigid as people assumed in the first place.
This is a modern marriage in every sense - and it has served to show us that our royals really do embody modern values.'
People reports:
'It is unusual for non-married partners of senior members of the family to join the Queen for Christmas Day’s celebrations. Despite being engaged to William, in 2010 Kate spent her last Christmas as a single woman with her own family. But, unlike Kate, Meghan doesn’t have any family in the U.K. — and clearly Harry will have wanted his new fiancé by his side.
What Harry asks, the Queen is likely to grant, too. A family friend has told PEOPLE, “If Harry asks for something, the Queen would say yes as she adores him.”
Before that, We can expect to see car arrival photos of Harry and Meghan for the Queen's pre-Christmas luncheon. I believe it takes place either next Tuesday or Wednesday. You can read our full post on Meghan's first Christmas with the Royals here.
Are you looking forward to seeing Harry and Meghan make the first of many appearances at Sandringham on Christmas Day?