‘Meghan loved her royal Christmas with the family she’s never had’
PRINCE HARRY has told how Meghan Markle had a “fantastic” time during her first royal Christmas at Sandringham with “the family she’s never had”.
He said there were “plenty” of traditions he had to explain to his fiancée but said she did an “absolutely amazing job of getting in there”. When asked about whether Barack Obama, his special guest on his Today broadcast, would be invited to their wedding, he remained tight-lipped, saying that the guest list was yet to be decided.
“We haven’t even put the invite or the guest list together, who knows if he’s going to be invited or not?” he said. “I wouldn’t want to ruin that surprise.”
It follows reports that the Prince was keen to invite the Obamas, but Government officials fear that could be regarded as a snub to Donald Trump.
Asked about how Ms Markle coped meeting the “in-laws”, he replied: “It was fantastic, she really enjoyed it.” Later, he added: “It’s the family that, I suppose, she’s never had.”
Ms Markle joined the Queen and the rest of the Royal family at Sandringham on Christmas Day, and was seen walking arm-in-arm with the Prince to the service at St Mary Magdalene Church.
Prince Harry said that the family “loved having her there”, adding that they had “great fun” staying with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and playing with their children.
Describing Ms Markle’s first royal Christmas, he said: “It was fantastic, she really enjoyed it, the family loved having her there. Together, we had an amazing time, we had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running around with the kids.”
This year, the Queen used her Christmas message to welcome Ms Markle into the family. Displaying a photo of the Prince and his fiancée as they celebrated their engagement in the gardens of Kensington Palace, she said she was looking forward to welcoming new members of the family in 2018.
Ms Markle’s parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, divorced when she was six. Her mother took a job as an air stewardess, meaning Ms Markle was frequently cared for by her father, a Hollywood lighting director who moved to Mexico after retiring. He was declared bankrupt in June 2016.
She has two half-siblings, Thomas Markle Jnr, 50, who was arrested in January for holding a gun to girlfriend Darlene Blount’s head in a drunken row, although they are now engaged, and Samantha Grant, 52, who has multiple sclerosis and has not spoken to Ms Markle in nine years.