Prince Harry’s Christmas celebrations in Montecito with Meghan Markle, 43, and their children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, are worlds apart from his childhood festivities at Sandringham.
However, one memory from his early Christmases stands out—and not in a way he’d want to replicate for his own kids.
In his memoir Spare, Harry, 40, revealed a particularly unusual gift he received as a child from his late great-aunt, Princess Margaret.
The Queen’s sister gave him a biro pen adorned with a small rubber fish, a present Harry described as “cold-blooded.” He admitted that his relationship with Princess Margaret was distant, saying he felt “nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness.”
A Tradition That Endures
While Harry has no plans to pass on quirky gifts like that to his children, he and Meghan have embraced a cherished royal tradition in their Californian Christmas celebrations.
In Spare, the Duke of Sussex recalled their first Christmas in Montecito after stepping back from senior royal duties. “It was Christmas Eve. We FaceTimed with several friends, including a few in Britain. We watched Archie running around the tree. And we opened presents. Keeping to the Windsor family tradition,” he wrote.
This tradition, rooted in the family’s Anglo-Saxon heritage, involves opening gifts on Christmas Eve. Harry reflected on his childhood memories of the tradition at Sandringham:
“We were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place, stood before our mound of presents. Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time—a free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper.”
Meghan’s Holiday Excitement
In a recent interview with Marie Claire, Meghan shared her own excitement about the holidays, especially as their children grow older.
“I think as a mom with children, you’re just enjoying having them there, but they’re not understanding everything that’s happening yet,” she explained. “But now we’re at the age where I just can’t wait to see it through their lens every year.”
The Sussexes’ mix of royal traditions and personal touches ensures their Christmases remain special while creating new memories for their young family.
