Samir Hussein/WireImage
Prince Harryshared the backstory behind a surprise gift with a royal tie fromMeghan Marklein his memoir,Spare.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, shared more than ever before his in book, published in January, including the story of a present connected toQueen Elizabeth. The anecdote arose as Harry recapped his family’s first Christmas in California, as he and Meghan relocated to her home state with their sonPrince Archie, now 4, in 2020.
“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,” Prince Harry wrote inSpare. The “tradition” referred to the royal family’slongtime customof exchanging gifts on Dec. 24, a German practice that Queen Victoria’s Bavarian-born husband, Prince Albert, introduced in the mid-19th century.
“One present was a little Christmas ornament of… the Queen! I roared. What the—? Meg had spotted it in a local store and thought I might like it,” he continued. “I held it to the light. It was Granny’s face to a T. I hung it on an eye-level branch. It made me happy to see her there.”
Queen Elizabeth at a Windsor Castle event for Halcyon Days in March 2022.Steve Parsons/Pool/AFP via Getty
However, the decoration didn’t last long. Prince Harry said that his son, who was then 1 ½, accidentally knocked it off the festive fir.
“But then Archie, playing around the tree, jostled the stand, shook the tree, and Granny fell. I heard a smash and turned. Pieces lay all over the floor,” Harry wrote inSpare, adding that the toddler tried to help fix the situation.
“Archie ran and grabbed a spray bottle. For some reason he thought spraying water on the broken pieces would fix it,” he wrote. “Meg said: No, Archie, no — do not spray Gan-Gan! I grabbed a dustpan and swept up the pieces, all the while thinking: This is weird.”
There may have been another layer to the lighthearted gift the Duchess of Sussex, 42, chose for her husband that year. The royal family is known to swapsilly presentsinstead of expensive gifts on Christmas Eve, and Harry and Meghan might incorporate the tradition into their holiday celebrations.
Though the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal roles in 2020, they have continued to release official Christmas cards likeKing Charles,Queen Camilla,Kate MiddletonandPrince Williamdo each year. In 2020, the couple opted for adifferent lookand chose an illustration for their holiday card as they marked their first Christmas in the U.S.
“Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,” the message said.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Christmas card in 2020.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
The family expanded with the birth ofPrincess Lilibet, now 2, in June 2021, and Harry and Meghan sharedthe first photoof their daughter through the family’s holiday card that December.
The message read, “This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa’, and Lili made us a family. As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families – from those being relocated from Afghanistan, to American families in need of paid parental leave.”
The card was first shared withTeam Rubicon, a veteran-led organization to which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have previously lent support — and worked with in the run-up of launching theWelcome Projectventure in the U.S.
Alexi Lubomirski
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not include an image of their children in their2022 holiday cardand instead went with a black and white snap from theRobert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award Galain New York City.
“Wishing you a joyful holiday season,” the card said. “From our family to yours, and on behalf of our teams at The Archewell Foundation, Archewell Audio, and Archewell Productions, we wish you health, peace, and a very happy new year.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York City.Mike Coppola/Getty
“That’s a great question,” she replied. “Our little ones are little, and we’re enjoying every moment of it.”
source: people.com
