Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are being questioned for missing the holidays with Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the royal family at Sandringham this year. However, Kate Middleton and Prince William have been missing the Christmas celebration with their grandmother for several times in the past long before the Sussexes did.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not the only ones who miss the customary Royal Family Christmas at Sandringham. The Cambridges themselves also failed to attend the special event in the previous years.
Kate Middleton and Prince William broke the royal tradition for a number of times in exchange for a "normal festive season." In her 2013 book Kate, royal biographer Marcia Moody revealed, via Express, that senior royal family members were not allowed to be anywhere other than Sandringham on Christmas Day in the past. However, times definitely changed.
The significant change happened when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent Christmas with the Middletons in 2012. It was the first time that Prince William saw how his wife celebrated the festivity with her family.
However, the royal couple still did their best to follow the royal protocol by attending a church service at St Mark's Church in Englefield. They, too, joined the royal family for pheasant shoot at the Sandringham estate on Boxing Day.
At the time, Kate Middleton was pregnant with Prince George and had severe morning sickness. So, she chose to have a simpler Christmas at home with her family.
In 2014, Prince William and his wife once again bucked the royal tradition when they chose to host Christmas at their home in Norfolk. They invited Kate Middleton's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, and her siblings, Pippa and James Middleton, to join them.
Again, in 2016, Kate Middleton and Prince William went to Bucklebury, Berkshire, with the initial's parents. This time, they brought Prince George and Princess Charlotte with them.
This year, they will be spending Christmas with Queen Elizabeth at Sandringham, along with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Prince Philip will host the traditional three-day festive break at their Norfolk estate.
Unfortunately, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not celebrate the festive season with them. The couple is in a six-week vacation in the United States to celebrate baby Archie's first Thanksgiving with the former actress' mother, Doria Ragland, Business Times recently reported. There are also rumors that they will be celebrating Christmas with her family and not with Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrated two Christmases at Sandringham. Now that they have a family of their own with Archie's arrival, they may like to spend the Yuletide season privately elsewhere.
