The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are preparing for another Christmas estranged from the royals. And now Meghan has made a telling comment in a new interview about ‘family’

Meghan Markle is gearing up for the Christmas holidays with her husband and children. But she has raised eyebrows following the release of a new interview, in which she made a poignant comment about family.

Meghan and Harry are famously estranged from the royals following their exit from The Firm in 2020. The couple have levelled a number of criticisms at members of the monarchy – in their Oprah interview, their Netflix series, and in Spare – and Meghan has stated how “lonely” she felt at the time. As such, a huge gulf has developed between Harry and his family, and the Sussexes will not be spending the festive period at Sandringham.

Instead, they will remain in Montecito, California with Archie and Lilibet. And speaking to Marie Claire, Meghan spoke about their plans and stressed the importance of “making room at your table for your friends who don’t have family” during the holidays.

Meghan Markle hosts a Holiday Dinner for The Welcome Project in Celebration of Community in Venice, California ( 
Image:
The Archewell Foundation via Get)

Meghan is looking forward to spending Christmas with Prince Harry and their two children ( 
Image:
The Archewell Foundation via Get)
She was also asked how Americans can help newcomers feel at home in the US during the holiday season. “It’s really easy,” she replied. “Just think about how you’d want someone to treat you…how would you want someone to open their arms to you?”

Meghan spoke to the publication while hosting a pre-holiday dinner for Afghan women who had fled their country and have relocated to the United States. The event was a joint effort between Archewell ‘s The Welcome Project and Mina’s List to “support the creation of programming for women who have recently resettled from Afghanistan “.

Elsewhere in the interview, Meghan shared her “love” of the holidays, and said of her two children Archie and Lilibet, “every year it gets better”.

“At first, I think as a mum with children you’re just enjoying having them there, but they’re not understanding everything that’s happening yet,” she said. “But now we’re at the age where I just can’t wait to see it through their lens every year,” she said, adding that the family puts “carrots for the reindeer” out as one of their annual festive traditions.

Meghan was famously invited to join the royal family for a Sandringham Christmas in 2017 – five months before her wedding to Harry. It was an unprecedented move by the late Queen – neither Princess Kate nor Duchess Sophie spent Christmas Day with their in-laws until after they had tied the knot. But the monarch went out of her way to welcome Meghan.

Meghan Markle at a holiday dinner for the Welcome Project in California ( 
Image:
The Archewell Foundation via Get)

According to royal reporter Richard Eden : ” The Queen fast-tracked her entry into the Royal Family, inviting Meghan to join her at a service to mark Commonwealth Day – her first official engagement with the Queen – two months before the wedding. It was another clear indication that Her Majesty valued Meghan and wanted her to be seen as a part of the family without delay.”

A short time after the 2017 Christmas gathering, Prince Harry told BBC Radio 4’s Today show: “The family loved having her there. There’s always that family part of Christmas [where] there’s always that work element there as well, and I think together we had an amazing time. We had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running round with the kids. Christmas was fantastic.”

Asked if there were any family traditions that had to be explained to his partner, Prince Harry divulged: “Oh plenty, I think we’ve got one of the biggest families that I know of, and every family is complex as well. No look, she’s done an absolutely amazing job. She’s getting in there and it’s the family I suppose that she’s never had.”