© 2026 ABC News

Meghan and Harry’s photo was a never-before-seen shot of the couple gazing at fireworks during their wedding reception hosted by Prince Charles. The wedding reception was held at Frogmore House at Windsor Castle, near Frogmore Cottage, where the couple plans to live full-time beginning next year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Dec 14, 2018 at 3:01am PST

The royal family gathers on Christmas Eve to exchange gifts, following the German tradition. On Christmas Day, they join the congregation for the morning service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham followed by a Christmas lunch and, later, a buffet dinner prepared by Queen Elizabeth’s chef.

\"PHOTO:
Paul Grover/Pool via AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: From left, Britain's Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive at Westminster Abbey to attend a service to mark the centenary of the Armistice in central London on Nov. 11, 2018.
>

\"I think if there have been any disagreements behind closed doors, then I think they will be very careful not to let that show,\" said ABC News' royal contributor Victoria Murphy. \"I think we'll see a show of all of them together enjoying themselves and being united for the holidays.\"

The announcement of the royal family’s Christmas plans also came just as a division in Meghan’s personal life was made public again.

(MORE: Kate Middleton goes full glamour in Princess Diana's favorite tiara)

Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, gave an interview to \"Good Morning Britain\" Monday in which he begged his daughter to contact him. Meghan and her father have been estranged since around the time of her wedding to Harry in May.

\"I love you very much. You’re my daughter and I’d really like to hear from you,\" Thomas Markle said. \"Whatever differences we probably have, we should be able to work them out. We’re family. Please reach out to me.\"

Thomas Markle, who did not attend Harry and Meghan's wedding, also spoke out about his future grandchild. Meghan and Harry are expecting their first child next year.

(MORE: How Meghan Markle will spend her first official royal Christmas)

\"There has to be a place for me,\" he said. \"I’m her father and I will be her grandfather to her children.\"

Meghan, whose mother, Doria Ragland, attended her wedding, is preparing in London not only for the birth of her first child but also for the announcement of the focus of her charitable work.

There are new reports that Meghan, 37, will receive her first royal patronage from Queen Elizabeth in the New Year.

\"She's been having meetings behind the scenes to find out more about the charities and organizations that she's considering becoming patron of,\" Murphy said of Meghan. \"She is very interested we know in women's and girls' rights around the world.\"

She added, \"We also know that she's interested in education and equality of education for all, and we know that, with her background as an actress, she is very interested in the arts.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/prince-william-kate-middleton-prince-harry-meghan-markle/story?id=59859638","legacySlug":"/culture/story/prince-william-kate-middleton-prince-harry-meghan-markle-59859638","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"14:46","publishDate":"12-17-2018","updatedTime":"13:19","updatedDate":"12-18-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"From left, Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive at Westminster Abbey to attend a service to mark the centenary of the Armistice in central London on Nov. 11, 2018.","credit":"Paul Grover/Pool via AFP/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/royals-group-nov-gty-ps-181217_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"12/17/2018 14:46:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":59859638,"headline":"Royal 'fab four' to spend Christmas together","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Royals at Christmas_181217","description":"The royal family will follow tradition in gathering at Sandringham in Norfolk.","duration":"2:04","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/12/181217_gma_thomas_814_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["59482830","59579567","59621018"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"November 29, 2018","headline":"Duchess Kate 'absolutely' excited for Meghan Markle's baby ","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/duchess-kate-absolutely-excited-meghan-markles-baby-special-59482830","id":59482830,"image":{"alt":"Duchess Kate 'absolutely' excited for Meghan Markle's baby ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/meghan-markle-duchess-kate-gty-mem-180515_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Chris Jackson/WPA Pool/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 24, 2018","headline":"How Meghan Markle will spend her first official royal Christmas","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/meghan-markle-experience-royal-traditions-1st-christmas-married-59579567","id":59579567,"image":{"alt":"How Meghan Markle will spend her first official royal Christmas","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/harry-meghan-gty-er-181203_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 5, 2018","headline":"Kate Middleton goes full glamour in Princess Diana's favorite tiara","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/kate-middleton-full-glamour-princess-dianas-favorite-tiara-59621018","id":59621018,"image":{"alt":"Kate Middleton goes full glamour in Princess Diana's favorite tiara","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/kate-1-rt-er-181205_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Victoria Jones/Pool via Reuters","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Royal 'fab four' to spend Christmas together","description":"The royal family will follow tradition in gathering at Sandringham in Norfolk.","duration":"2:04","uploadDate":"12-17-2018","publication":"12-17-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/12/181217_gma_thomas_814_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/12/181217_gma_thomas_814_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/prince-william-kate-middleton-prince-harry-meghan-markle-59859638"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132675442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132665875","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Royal 'fab four' to spend Christmas together","pubTime":"09:46","pubDate":"12-17-2018","modTime":"08:19","modDate":"12-18-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":59859638,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Royal 'fab four' to spend Christmas together","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Royals at Christmas_181217","videoId":59859638,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/prince-william-kate-middleton-prince-harry-meghan-markle-59859638"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/59859638","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/59859638","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};