Meghan and Harry likely to have 'very different' Christmas Day to royals at Sandringham

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex likely have "very different" Christmas plans to the rest of their family, according to a royal expert.

For the royals, the festive period is an important time filled with traditions and customs that date back generations.

The King and Queen have just sent out their annual Christmas cards and are preparing to spend the holiday with the majority of the Royal family at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

But Christmas will likely look very different for Prince Harry and Meghan.

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It is expected the duo will not join their family in Sandringham and rather spend the holiday with Archie and Lilibet in the United States.

Speaking to OK, royal expert Jennie Bond has spoken about what the family likely have planned.

"Meghan strikes me as a real home-maker and I'm sure everything in Montecito will be exquisitely tasteful, but also child friendly, because Meghan and Harry focus so much on their children and family life," she said.

Bond said with Archie and Lilibet coming to an age where they can properly understand Christmas, Harry and Meghan likely want to make the most of the festive excitement.

"I think there is still a lot of the child in Harry as he was always the playful, mischievous one - and I'm sure he throws himself into Christmas fun with Archie and Lilibet," she said.

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Bond added that while the pair are disconnected from a lot of their family, Meghan's mum Doria Ragland remains close and will likely be there to celebrate Christmas with the family.

"Estranged as Harry and Meghan are from so many members of their respective families, Christmas must be more about friends than family. But Doria is a constant in their lives, and Meghan spoke recently about how she loved having her mum nearby."

As for what Christmas day will look like for the family as they spend it thousands of kilometres away from the King and Queen in California, Bond suspects Meghan and Harry will "join forces to create a wonderful, sunny, Christmas Day with fabulous food, maybe some friends and lots of games and music."

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And under the Californian sun, Bond says it will look very different to the Sandrigham Christmases Harry will remember from yesteryear.

"In California, they can provide have a bit of a pool party to work off the food and have some fun - all very informal and very different from the Christmas festivities at Sandringham that Harry will remember."

On the other side of the globe, many royal family members will be coming together in England's Norfolk for a day of traditional Christmas festivities.

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It's the first time the British royal family will be gathering together after a rough year filled with medical troubles for King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales.

"It will be very, very much a case of unity for the royal family this year," Russell Myers, Royal editor at the Daily Mirror, told Today last week.

"They're all going to be at Sandringham. The King has been there all week. He's been touring the estate. He's been in the big house, as they call it, making sure that all the plans are being laid to welcome all the family for for the the Christmas period. So a lot to look forward to after such, such a testing year," he shared.

"This will be the first time that the Royal family have all got together en masse since the since their health woes right back in January," the expert pointed out.

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