Weeks after celebrating Thanksgiving in the US with Doria Ragland, a royal spokesperson recently confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will now spend Christmas in Canada with their son, Archie Harrison.
Over the weekend, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the couple to his country via Twitter, which is also where the Duchess of Sussex lived for several years while shooting her hit TV show Suits, prior to moving to the UK ahead of her wedding to the Duke of Sussex.
It was previously suggested by the Palace that the three royals would be spending the Christmas period with Markle’s mother, Ragland, but we expect the new family will also be catching up with some of the Duchess’ friends who live in Canada.
On Sunday, Meghan’s BFF Jessica Mulroney shared an adorable Christmas photo of her children Brian, John and Ivy – who played a role in the royal wedding in 2018 - on her Instagram account. In the sweet snap, the three children wear matching red ensembles.
Royal fans will remember that Meghan has been friends with Jessica – who is fashion adviser to Trudeau's wife Sophie - and her husband, TV presenter and son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Ben, for several years since her time in Toronto, Canada filming Suits.
The royal is believed to have stayed with the Mulroneys when news of her romance hit headlines in 2016.
Jessica has spoken out against the criticism and media intrusion her friend has faced since becoming a royal on several occasions on Instagram, most recently describing her critics as ‘racist bullies’.
During their stay across the Atlantic, we wouldn’t be surprised if Meghan also caught up with some of her former Suits co-stars.
While her friend and royal wedding invitees Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J Adams appear to be in California for the festive period, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might have time to catch up with actors Gabriel Macht and his wife Jacinda Barrett, with whom the royals are rumoured to be close with.
The royals were rumoured to have been planning to stay with the Suits stars at their home in Noosa on southern Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, during their official royal tour of Australia last year.
Harry, Meghan and Archie’s visit to Canada will be their first as a family-of-three.
A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry previously confirmed in a statement: ‘As has been reported, Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are spending private family time in Canada.
‘The decision to base themselves in Canada reflects the importance of this Commonwealth country to them both.’
Over the weekend, the Duke dressed up as Santa Claus to send Christmas greetings to bereaved British Armed Forces children.
In a video sent ahead of the Scotty's Little Soldiers Christmas party, the royal – who was believed to have filmed the segment in Canada – told the 190 children attending to ‘cause as much chaos as humanly possible’.
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
