Harry and Meghan Plan Christmas With Doria, Not the Royals

Caption: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Belfast, 2018. Credit: Northern Ireland Office / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly plan to celebrate Christmas with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, rather than join the traditional royal family gathering at Sandringham. People reported the plan on October 11, drawing on reporting from The Sunday Times. The family has not publicly announced where the gathering will take place.

The arrangement puts Ragland at the center of a holiday season unlike the family’s previous years in California. Harry and Meghan moved back to Britain with their children, Archie and Lilibet, in August, but the reported Christmas plan does not involve a return to the royal household’s Norfolk celebration. The couple last attended the royal Christmas gathering in 2018, while Queen Elizabeth II was monarch.

According to People, the couple intends to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas with Ragland. She lives in California, and accounts in Us Weekly described the venue as undecided: the Sussexes might travel to California or have her join them in Britain. The reporting describes an intention, not a confirmed travel booking or public itinerary.

The Sandringham tradition

Senior members of the royal family ordinarily gather at Sandringham over Christmas, a tradition that has been closely followed in British media for decades. Since stepping back from royal duties in 2020, Harry and Meghan have generally spent holidays outside those public family celebrations. Their return to Britain has renewed attention to whether family contacts might change, but the currently reported Christmas plan centers on Ragland.

A friend quoted by The Sunday Times described a reunion with the wider royal family as difficult and indicated that the Sussexes did not expect an invitation. That is the friend’s account, not a statement issued by Buckingham Palace. Harry has discussed wanting better relations with his family, including his father, while the circumstances around other relationships have remained unsettled in public reporting.

Ragland has been part of major public moments in Meghan’s life, including the couple’s 2018 wedding. The planned holiday gathering would give the children time with their maternal grandmother after the family’s relocation across the Atlantic. For a couple now living in Britain but retaining ties to California, either holiday location would be consistent with the family arrangement described by the reporting.

The clearest remaining question is logistical: whether Ragland travels to Britain or Harry and Meghan travel to California. Neither has been established in the published accounts, which trace the holiday plan to October reporting rather than a new November 4 announcement.

References: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to Spend Christmas with Doria Ragland, Not Royal Family, After U.K. Move | How Harry and Meghan Will Reportedly Spend Christmas After Returning to the UK | Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Have Different Plans for Their First Christmas Back in the UK | Meghan and Prince Harry Christmas Plans Royal Family Doria Ragland