Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Archie to spend Christmas with duchess's mother Doria Ragland
Decision 'has the support of the Queen', spokesperson states
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Your support makes all the difference.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, are to spend their first Christmas as a family with the duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland.
Members of the royal family traditionally spend the yuletide period with the Queen on her Sandringham Estate, where they attend the Christmas morning service at St Mary Magdalene church.
Having attended the service in Sandringham together for the past couple of years, this year Meghan and Prince Harry will not join the royal family for the festive occasion.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month,” a spokesperson for the Sussexes said.
“Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, their Royal Highnesses will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland.”
The spokesperson added that 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”.
They also stated that further details regarding the royal couple’s Christmas schedule will not be provided at this time “for security reasons”.
In the past, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also on occasion chosen to spend Christmas with the duchess’s parents, the Middletons, rather than the royal family.
It is not confirmed whether Meghan, Prince Harry, Archie and Ms Ragland will be spending their Christmas in the UK or the US.
However, it is rumoured that the duke and the California-born duchess may be taking their six-month-old son to the US later this month to celebrate Thanksgiving, which takes place on 28 November.
Meghan and Prince Harry recently shared a never-before-seen photograph of their son to mark the Prince of Wales’s 71st birthday.
The image was captured by photographer Chris Allerton on the day of Archie’s baptism in July, and shows Prince Harry holding the baby while his father, Prince Charles, gazes at his grandson.
“Happy birthday to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales – Sir, Pa, Grandpa!” the caption on the picture read on Instagram.
Earlier this month, the duke and duchess revealed that their son had started crawling and teething.
The couple were speaking to a group of military families during a coffee morning at Windsor’s Boom Farm Community Centre.
“My daughter Aeris is the same age as Archie and we talked about weaning and the children beginning to crawl – she’s just a normal mum and it was like talking to a friend,” Amy Thompson, whose husband Brad is attached to the Welsh Guards, told the Press Association.
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