Meghan Markle must have been incredibly nervous when she joined the royal family for Christmas for the first time. But she reportedly "played a blinder" when it came to choosing a gift for the Queen.
Meghan was invited to spend Christmas at Sandringham in 2017, one month after her engagement to Prince Harry was announced. The news came as a surprise at the time; she was the first royal fiancé to attend the royal celebrations. In the past, other partners, including Kate Middleton, were only invited once they were married. But the Queen decided to make an exception.
While Meghan must have been a little daunted at the prospect of joining the royals for Christmas, she managed to find the perfect gift for the monarch.
Meghan joined the royal family for Christmas in 2017 (pictured) (AFP via Getty Images)The family have their own special tradition which sees them open gifts at afternoon tea on Christmas Eve. And the cheaper the gifts, the better - as Princess Diana quickly found out after her first visit to Sandringham.
According to Richard Kay, royal expert and columnist: "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."
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But, unlike her late mother-in-law, Meghan was more clued up. Speaking on the 2021 Channel 5 documentary, Harry & Meghan Vs The Monarchy, 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."
Fast forward six years, and much has changed. As a result of ongoing fallout with the rest of the royal family, Harry and Meghan are not expected to spend the December holiday with them - with reports they were not even invited to attend.
In November, a friend of Harry's said the couple "would love to" spend Christmas in the UK, since Charles has never been with their children Archie and Lilibet during the festive season. The couple last had a family festive get-together in 2018 at Sandringham, before them leaving the UK and moving to the US.
But a source told the Sunday Times: "Which begs the question, why now? Is it something to do with the fact that some of their commercial deals, such as Spotify, have fallen around their ears and they have been subject to ridicule in the U.S. in shows such as South Park and Family Guy?
"Could it be that they have realised moaning about how awful being a member of the Royal Family is, isn't such a great strategy after all?" The source also noted that any invitation to Meghan and Harry would not be welcomed by senior royals.
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