Meghan Markle reveals how she and Prince Harry spend Christmas since leaving the UK for California – and says it’s much like ‘any other family’

Meghan Markle has revealed how the Sussexes have been celebrating the holidays at their California home since she and Prince Harry stepped down from the royal family in 2020.

The Duchess of Sussex recently hosted a Thanksgiving dinner in Los Angeles for Afghan women settled in the US, and talked about the festive traditions close to her family’s heart.

Meghan, 43, said the holidays get better “every year” as her and Prince Harry’s children – Archie, five, and Lilibet, three – get older.

She told me Marie Claire that their Thanksgiving festivities are “always low key” and how much she appreciates being able to spend the holidays with her mother, Doria Ragland.

Doria, 68, lives in California, as do Harry and Meghan, who moved to Montecito after stepping down as senior members of the royal family.

Meghan emphasized the importance of making “space at the table for your friends who don’t have family,” like feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who once joined the Sussexes’ Thanksgiving feast.

“We always make sure we have something to do,” the Duchess told the magazine. ‘Just like any other family, you spend time with a delicious meal and then what do you do? Play games, all the same, someone brings a guitar – fun.’

The former Suits actress, who married Harry in 2018, added that it is important to the couple that Archie and Lilibet experience the “magic” of festive traditions such as handing out “carrots for the reindeer” at Christmas.

The first photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter Lilibet was released in a Christmas card on December 23, 2021

Meghan and Harry joined the royal family for the annual Christmas Day service at Sandringham for two years – 2018 and 2019 – before announcing they were leaving the company and moving to the United States.

The Sussexes published the first photo of their daughter Lilibet, who turned three this year, in a family Christmas card released on December 23, 2021.

In the photo, Lilibet’s older brother Archie sits on the Duke’s lap, while Meghan holds the smiling toddler.

Elsewhere in the interview, Meghan urged Americans to “open their arms” to new people this Thanksgiving, reminding them to think about “how you would want someone to treat you.”

The mother of two recently hosted a special Thanksgiving meal for Afghan women settled in the US, in partnership with the charity Mina’s List and the Welcome Project – an initiative launched by the Duke and Duchess’ Archewell Foundation.

Founded in 2023, The Welcome Project “supports the creation of programs for women recently resettled from Afghanistan.” These include art, photography, cooking, sewing, hiking and swimming projects.

Speaking about the benefits of her program, Meghan expressed her hope that the women would find a sense of community in the US.

“You miss home, you miss your country, and you can also find comfort in the new community you have here,” she said. I am grateful that we can be part of that community.’

Meghan Markle cooks with displaced Afghan women in February this year, supported by the charity Mina’s List

The dinner took place in the garden of the Venice Beach headquarters of Our Place, a trendy cookware company founded by a female immigrant and previously collaborated with Selena Gomez.

Since she and Prince Harry resigned from the royal family, the couple have spoken about how the firm could have done more to support Meghan during her time in Britain.

In their Netflix series, Meghan described her first meeting with the Prince and Princess of Wales – and how she was “surprised” to learn that the formality of the royal family was continuing behind closed doors.

She said: ‘Even when Will and Kate came over and I met her for the first time, I remember I was wearing ripped jeans, I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t know that this is really shocking for many British people.

‘I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried over to the inside, that there is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and you think, “Okay, we can relax now.” But that formality works on both sides and that was surprising to me.’

In Prince Harry’s biography Spare, the Duke claimed the Princess of Wales had been ‘put on edge’ by Meghan’s arrival and would be ‘forced to compete’ with the actress.

In their impressive interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan revealed that she began experiencing suicidal thoughts while pregnant with Archie in 2019 and didn’t get the support she needed.

She recalled, “I said, ‘I need help.’

Harry and Meghan spoke about their lives together as senior members of the royal family in a six-part Netflix docuseries

‘[Human resources] said, “My heart goes out to you because I see how bad it is, but there is nothing we can do to protect you because you are not a paid employee of the facility.”

“This was not a choice, these were emails and pleas for help that very specifically said, ‘I am concerned about my mental well-being.’

Meghan added: “Nothing was ever done. So we had to find a solution.’

Meghan also opened up about how “lonely” she felt when she was a working royal.

She explained: ‘There were times when [Harry] had to work or he had to leave, there are moments in the middle of the night. And so there was very little that I was allowed to do.

‘And yes, that of course breeds loneliness if you have had such a full life or if you have come out of freedom.

“I think the easiest way for people to understand it now is what we all went through during the lockdown.”