Just five months after their blind date in July 2016, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle faced their first festive season as a couple, with an invitation to the late Queen's Sandringham gathering understandably not forthcoming. Royal biographer Christopher Andersen, in his book Brothers and Wives, details how the pair, understanding it was too soon for a royal Christmas, crafted their own intimate celebrations.
A Cosy, Do-It-Yourself Celebration at Nottingham Cottage
Opting for a suitably low-key affair, the couple chose a six-foot Christmas tree from Pines and Needles in London's Battersea Park, at a reported cost of £65. Shop owner Sam Lyle later told the Daily Mail that staff did a 'double-take' at the sight of the pair, who wandered the store 'like a normal couple'. Harry and Meghan then took the tree back to his home, Nottingham Cottage within Kensington Palace grounds, and decorated it themselves.
Their festive activities included seeing the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in London's West End and enjoying romantic 'long walks through Soho admiring the Christmas lights'. However, for Christmas Day itself, they were apart: Meghan returned to the United States to be with her mother, Doria Ragland, while Harry joined the Royal Family at Sandringham in Norfolk.
A New Year's Reunion & Romantic Arctic Escape
Eager to reunite, Meghan returned to London just days later to ring in the New Year with Harry. The couple then jetted off for a romantic getaway to Tromso, Norway, arranged by Harry's friend, adventure guide Inge Solheim. For seven days, they stayed in a remote cabin at the tip of the Arctic Circle, enjoying dog sledding, whale watching, and cuddling up to witness the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
From Outsider to Insider: Meghan's Sandringham Debut
The following Christmas, in 2017, the dynamic had shifted dramatically. Now engaged to Harry after a November proposal at Nottingham Cottage, Meghan received her coveted invitation to Sandringham—a clear sign of the late Queen's warm welcome. Rather than staying in the main house, they joined Prince William and Kate at their nearby home, Anmer Hall.
In her 2022 Netflix documentary, Meghan described the experience as 'amazing', recalling it as 'just like a big family like I always wanted'. She shared a humorous dinner anecdote, having chatted at length with the late Prince Philip, only for Harry to inform her she had been speaking into his 'bad ear'.
Author Andrew Morton, in Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, notes Meghan embraced royal traditions, even gifting the Queen a singing hamster (reportedly eyed 'dolefully' by the corgis) and wearing a paper crown from a Christmas cracker. The festive period culminated with the Queen's broadcast, which welcomed 'new members' to the family, alongside a framed photo of the couple—a public affirmation of Meghan's place within The Firm.
