Are Meghan and Harry the first royals to skip Christmas with the Queen at Sandringham?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not the first Royal Family members to duck out of the traditional celebrations 
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Marissa Desantis23 December 2019

Earlier this year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they would be breaking with traditional royal Christmas celebrations at Sandringham this year and taking some time off.

A statement from their spokesperson read, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month. 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. 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.”

AFP via Getty Images

Though the Queen began the tradition of Christmas at Sandringham in 1988 - including a full day of activities like morning church service at St. Mary Magdalene, an elaborate lunch and watching the Queen’s annual Christmas broadcast - other Royal Family members have made holiday plans away from The Firm in the past.

Getty Images

In fact, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge missed out on Sandringham celebrations as recently as 2016. They instead opted to take Prince George and Princess Charlotte to Kate’s family home, attending church services with the Middleton family at St. Mark’s Church in Englefield.

And that’s not the only time they were absent. William and Kate also ducked out of Christmas in Sandringham in 2012, when Kate was pregnant with Prince George. Once again, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent Christmas with the Middleton family.

Getty Images

In an interview for the Yahoo video series The Royal Story, former chef to the Queen Darren McGrady shared his insight into the recent news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be spending Christmas with the Royal Family and shared an anecdote about Princess Diana following her divorce from Prince Charles.

Recalling Harry’s earlier Christmases, McGrady said, “I was working with Princess Diana after the separation and the courts decided that Prince Charles would have the boys one year and then the Princess the next year. She felt that the boys should be at Sandringham with the Queen,” he stated, adding, “Princess Diana insisted on the staff spending time with their families at Christmas. We’d leave food in the refrigerator, and there was the Princess, on her own on Christmas day.”

Harry, Meghan, William and Kate - In pictures

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