The first two seasons of Meghan Markle’s Netflix show With Love, Meghan haven’t really touched on her time as a working royal. The first season made no explicit mentions of her time as a working royal, only brief references, for example, when she said that her makeup artist and friend Daniel Martin has been in her life for the “before, during, and after” or when she told Alice Waters that she had missed California. In the second season, she discussed her royal wedding, but that was it. The holiday special was similarly light on references to royal life—except during a scene early on with restauranteur Will Guidara.
As the Duchess of Sussex and Guidara set out to craft Christmas crackers, he asks her if she’s been making them a long time. Meghan replies, “Living in the UK, it’s such a part of—” and he interrupts, asking, “a big part of the culture over there?” Meghan says, “For Christmas holidays, for sure.” She then demonstrates, explaining “Typically, people cross arms and do it… They all pull at the same time. It does feel really connected.”
Meghan adds, “The way that I started to know them was, they’d always have almost a fortune cookie size joke or riddle, and something sweet.” The two then start to construct their own.
Meghan spent two Christmases in the UK: in 2017, just after she and Harry announced their engagement, and in 2018, the year they got married. In 2019, the Sussexes spent Christmas with Meghan’s mom, Doria, and by December 2020, they were living in California.
After Meghan’s very first Christmas with the royals, Harry revealed on BBC Radio 4’s Today, “She really enjoyed it. The family loved having her there. There’s always that family part of Christmas, there’s always that work element as well. And I think together we had an amazing time.” He also shared that they stayed with Prince William and Kate at Anmer Hall, saying, “We had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running around with the kids.”
It’s likely, then, that Meghan’s memories of Christmas crackers come from spending time with the royal family. The royal family’s Christmas traditions include a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, and opening gifts on Christmas Eve—something that the Sussexes still do in California.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.townandcountrymag.com ’
