--- description: Here's how the Queen Elizabeth, Prince William, Prince Harry and the rest of the Windsor royal clan celebrated Christmas together this year. title: Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton Greet Onlookers Together on Christmas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6291e261135eec4c/6989423f22fb850646e27795/royal-family-christmas-celebration.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton Greet Onlookers Together on Christmas by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/) and [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) Dec 25, 2018 2:41 PM CUT  DECEMBER 25: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on December 25, 2018 in King's Lynn, England. DECEMBER 25: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on December 25, 2018 in King's Lynn, England.Samir Hussein—Samir Hussein/WireImage by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/) and [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) Dec 25, 2018 2:41 PM CUT Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were all smiles as they greeted hundreds of onlookers during a Christmas stroll to a church service on Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham Estate. The couples followed Prince Charles to the church, with Meghan and Kate walking alongside each other and talking on the way to the service. This apparent happy gathering follows [reports of “tension”](https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-kate-middleton-complex-relationship/ "undefined") between the two couples. [Kensington Palace](https://people.com/royals/kate-middleton-meghan-markle-feud-rumors-denied-kensington-palace/ "undefined") issued a rare statement earlier this month to [_The Sun_](https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7870884/furious-kate-middleton-meghan-markle/ "undefined") denying a report of an alleged clash between Meghan Markle, who is expecting her first child with Prince Harry, and her sister-in-law Kate Middleton before the royal wedding in May. “This never happened,” a royal spokesperson told [_The Sun_](https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7870884/furious-kate-middleton-meghan-markle/ "undefined").  Britain's Queen Elizabeth II departs the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, eastern England, on December 25, 2018. PAUL ELLIS—AFP/Getty Images The holiday stroll marks the first time both royal couples have appeared together since Meghan and Harry announced that [they would be moving](http://time.com/5463029/meghan-markle-prince-harry-frogmore-cottage/ "undefined") out of the two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage on the Kensington Palace estate to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, 97, was absent from the church service, as was Prince Charle’s wife, Camilla, who is recovering from a cold. Following the service, the Royal Family greeted a large crowd outside the church. Well-wishers brought bouquets of flowers for the family and wished them a Merry Christmas as they walked by. The Queen, her son Prince Charles and grandchildren including Prince William and Prince Harry — along with their spouses and assorted other royal relatives, grandchildren and great-grandchildren — gather each year at [Sandringham](http://time.com/3992105/sandringham-estate-stay/ "undefined") Estate in Norfolk, England for Christmas. (It’s about a two and a half hour car journey from the London royal residences.) There, the family treats each other to a Christmas Eve gift exchange, joins in a family dinner, [attends services](https://people.com/royals/7-very-merry-royal-family-holiday-traditions/ "undefined") at the nearby St. Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day and shares a turkey lunch. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5464225/royals-christmas-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5464225/royals-christmas-2018/"},"headline":"Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton Greet Onlookers Together on Christmas","datePublished":"2018-12-25T14:41:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:12.505Z","description":"To great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth's house they go","url":"https://time.com/5464225/royals-christmas-2018/","keywords":["Newsfeed","christmas","royals","onetime","Holidays 2018"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6291e261135eec4c/6989423f22fb850646e27795/royal-family-christmas-celebration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6291e261135eec4c/6989423f22fb850646e27795/royal-family-christmas-celebration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Royal Family Attend Church On Christmas Day","caption":"The Royal Family Attend Church On Christmas Day","creditText":"Samir Hussein—Samir Hussein/WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5464225/royals-christmas-2018/","name":"Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton Greet Onlookers Together on Christmas"}}]}] ```