Meghan Markle Is One of the Family at Christmas Day Church Service
Meghan Markle walked to church with the royal family today, confirming her entry to the heart of the establishment.
Meghan Markle stole the show when she joined the royal family for their traditional Christmas Day outing to church on the queen’s Sandringham estate.
Prince Harry’s office at Kensington Palace made the unprecedented decision to announce in advance that Meghan would be at Sandringham today.
It is the first time an unmarried partner of a senior royal has been invited to publicly join the celebrations. No such invitation was extended to Kate Middleton when she was engaged to William.
Markle walked arm-in-arm with her fiancé as they made the short journey from Sandringham House to St Mary Magdalene church. She seemed at ease as they smiled and chatted as they walked alongside William and Kate, who is pregnant with her third child.
The queen, who missed the service last year due to ill-health, arrived by car car and joined the group of walkers, which also included the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales.
Hundreds of well-wishers turned out to catch a glimpse of the royals, with some calling out, “Merry Christmas” as they walked past.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
After the service, Harry and Meghan walked back to Sandringham House with the rest of the family. They will be joining the queen for lunch, but are expected to stay at William and Kate’s house nearby.
Meghan and Harry stopped to chat to some of the crowd who turned out in mild conditions. Among them was Judith Wallis, who was sitting in a wheelchair and is staying at the neighboring Park House Hotel on her first Christmas Day visit to Sandringham.
“She said lots of things,” Wallis, who is in her seventies and from Chesterfield, told The Guardian. “She was very, very lovely.”
Tess Gilder, the manager of Park House, which describes itself as a unique hotel for disabled people, was with Wallis. She said of Markle: “She was just so natural, so lovely. I think they just wished us a happy Christmas and were interested in whether we had been before.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.