The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be spending Christmas with King Charles and the Royal Family, instead planning to celebrate privately with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland. The news comes as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle return to public engagements on Thursday (October 15) for the first time since returning to the UK from California in August.
First Joint Public Engagements in Nottingham
Harry and Meghan will carry out their first joint public engagement together as they travel to Nottingham for three separate visits across the city, including the Community Recording Studio (CRS), the Himmah Hub, a food-poverty community action group, and Epic Partners, an organization that assists young people through sporting initiatives and mentorship.
Nottingham holds particular importance for the couple, as it was where they conducted their inaugural official royal duty as an engaged couple in 2017. In 2020, Harry and Meghan completed their final official public royal engagement together when they accompanied the royal family at the Commonwealth Day service in Westminster Abbey.
BBC Breakfast Coverage and Royal Commentary
During the latest installment of BBC Breakfast on Thursday (October 15), presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty briefed viewers on Harry and Meghan's public engagement and philanthropic activities, and revealed details of their festive arrangements.
Opening the royal segment, Naga explained: "Harry and Meghan will take part in a series of events linked to their charitable work in Nottingham, where they made their first royal visit after their engagement in 2017."
Senior royal correspondent Daniela Relph informed BBC Breakfast audiences: "Today we will see Meghan in public, at an official event for the first time. It will be something of a full-circle moment for the couple."
"They'll be in Nottingham just as they were in 2017, for their first official royal duty after their engagement; it was here Meghan was officially launched into public life in the UK, and their team says it's a city that has held personal significance to them."
Christmas Plans and Private Celebration
The pair are also understood not to be joining King Charles or other royals at Sandringham for Christmas, instead planning to celebrate with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland.
Relph clarified: "Whatever Harry and Meghan do now is not any royal duty," before noting their appearances are "not as working royals, but as public figures and supporters of the projects they are going to see".
The BBC Breakfast correspondent went on to say: "Harry and Meghan will not join the royals at Sandringham at Christmas; they will spend the holiday privately with Meghan's mother."
