Meghan Markle is spending Christmas Day with Prince Harry and the Queen at Sandringham

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December 13, 2017 10:57 AM

Breaking tradition, Kensington Palace has announced that Markle will spend Christmas Day with the royals despite being an unmarried partner.

Meghan Markle will spend Christmas Day with fiancee Prince Harry and the rest of the royal family, according to Sky News.
Kensington Palace reportedly confirmed that the unmarried couple would break tradition by spending the holiday together at Sandringham.

Kensington Palace has confirmed that Meghan Markle will spend Christmas Day with fiancé Prince Harry, the Queen, and the rest of the royal family at Sandringham in Norfolk.

The move is a break in tradition, as unmarried partners have previously not been invited to spend Christmas with the royals. Even Kate Middleton wasn't invited to join the family for Christmas in 2010, despite getting engaged to Prince William a month before.

A Kensington Palace spokesman told Sky News: "You can expect to see The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, and Ms Markle at Sandringham on Christmas Day."

The Telegraph reported that the couple will "be seen in public with other royals when they attend the traditional Christmas Day church service on the Queen's private estate."

Prince Harry announced his engagement to the "Suits" actress last month. The couple are reportedly planning their own "fun" wedding at Windsor Castle, where they are set to wed in May 2018.

Their plans to spend Christmas together aren't the only way their engagement has marked a move into a more modern future for the royal family.

There are a number of factors related to Markle's background — aside from the fact she's a well-known celebrity — that make the royal engagement different to most that have come before.

Not only is Markle American, but she comes from a humble upbringing, is a divorcee, and is expected to be the first mixed-race person to marry into the family for generations.

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