Meghan Markle and mother Doria 'will be weighed' at Queen's Christmas dinner as part of Royal Family tradition
This is going to be the Duchess of Sussex's first Christmas since becoming a Royal after she tied the knot with Prince Harry in May earlier this year. Meghan Markle will be joining the Queen and other members of the Royal Family at Sandringham, Norfolk Estate, for the festivities.
It is reported that the Queen has also invited Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland to join in on the festivities which is an honor given that such invitations are very rarely given to those outside the immediate Royal Family. Meghan and her mother Doria will have to get accustomed to the ways the Royal Family does things — for example, opening presents on Christmas Eve.
According to royal expert and editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward, each member of the Royal Family is weighed before and after dinner. As reported by Mirror, Ingrid spoke to Grazia and shared that the Queen makes sure that guests weigh themselves on antique scales in a tradition going back to the time of King Edward VII who wanted to make sure that his guests are fed well.
Any visitors coming to Sandringham have to sit on the device and be weighed when they arrive as well as when they leave in order to see whether they had gained any weight during their stay. Given that the Royals are sure to have quite the Christmas feast, gaining weight seems inevitable!
Seward also pointed out how rare it was for the Queen to invite a family member of an in-law and said, "It is unusual for an outsider to be invited, but the royal family does change. I’m sure the Royals will do everything in their power to make Doria feel at home." The Royal Family tends to spend both Christmas as well as New Years at the Sandringham House and have been doing so since 1988.
On Christmas Eve, the entire family places all their gifts on trestle tables and then exchange the presents around tea time. The presents are meant to be cheap and fun and last year Meghan Markle reportedly gifted the Queen a singing hamster. Prince Harry once reportedly gave his grandmother a shower cap which read 'ain't life a bitch' on the front of it On Christmas Day, the family attends a morning service at the St. Mary Magdalene Church.
Lots of people also gather on route to the church to get a quick look at the Royal Family. The Queen gives Christmas presents to all members of the Royal Household and also sponsors around 1,500 Christmas puddings which are given out to workers throughout the Palaces, Court Post Office and Palace Police. Each pudding is given along with a greeting card from the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
