“Traditions have to have a beginning” as the Duchess of Sussex informed us today, and 2025 has given us the grand tradition of trying to glean little (flower) sprinkles of information about the relocated royal couple from her Netflix show.
With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration was obviously filmed long before the festive season, so all this news may be more stale than a miniature Quiche Lorraine left out in the California sun.
But still, we learned… some things.
Prince Harry is a picky eater
This last minute revelation was something of a surprise. One might imagine that growing up royal would expose you to a wide range of cuisine at a fairly young age. But we now have a list of Prince Harry’s Most Hated Foods: beetroot; black olives; fennel; anchovies; anything pickled. Unfortunately, that’s most of the ingredients in celebrity chef Tom Colicchio’s grandfather’s Christmas Eve salad.
Harry also requests that his mother-in-law, Doria Raglan, put aside a portion of her Christmas gumbo for him before she adds the fish. And spicy things make him so sweaty he needs a towel, bless.
Lilibet is having a ‘grown-up lady’ phase
An odd turn of phrase from Meghan, but context clues such as the lavender fragrance rollerball she puts in her daughter’s personalised Christmas cracker suggests this means Lilibet is itching to get into her mother’s makeup bag. To be fair, if my mum was hanging out on the FROW at Paris Fashion Week, I would also be trying to pinch her lotions and potions.
As for Archie? We learned he likes the colour red.
Meghan loves spinach!
Fork found in kitchen, honestly. The Duchess tried her best not to freak out at how many unhealthy ingredients are required to make delicious festive dishes, but her “reindeer chow” recipe (cereal slathered in peanut butter and chocolate with added sugar) almost broke her.
“That’s so much sugar,” she uttered in horror as she made what appears to be a very traditional American ‘homemade candy’. Her transformation into Montecito wellness enthusiast is complete.
Americans don’t understand Christmas crackers
Of all the transatlantic cultural differences when it comes to the holidays, apparently it’s the tubes that go bang that fox the Americans. At one point Meghan attempts to describe these mundane contraptions to one of her guests.
“Typically people cross arms and pull them,” she explains. “It actually does feel really connective and sweet.” Typical contents include a “fortune cookie-size joke”, a riddle and a sweet treat. Where were the Royals buying crackers with edible items rather than plastic toys in them? What about the most important part - the ridiculous paper hat?
Anyway, any Americans reading now please understand, Christmas crackers are not for connecting with your fellow diners, they are for making loud bangs and reading rude jokes and horsetrading for the best gift (obviously the miniature graters you get in the fancy ones).
Decorating a tree is a big deal…
…But don’t expect any concrete tips on how to do it! Despite going to a literal Christmas tree farm, Meghan has no tips to impart on how to pick the right tree apart from going off, like vibes. She wants an eight or nine footer, but that is way beyond the height of most British ceilings so unless you are a palace-dweller stick to a nice plebian five feet or less.
Lights? Meghan puts them both “within” the tree and “on the border” - no idea what this means. Ornaments must be placed to “find their light”. They should also “encapsulate your family story”. There is no tinsel or lametta in Casa Meghan, unsurprisingly.
Aprons are optional, still
There is only one moment where Meghan bothers with “tossing on” an apron, while piping fancy cheese puffs while wearing a brown knit vest. At one point she is peeling cooked beets (“beetroot, as they say in England!”) with nary a protective layer between her and her clothes. Insane behaviour. Do they edit out the splatters in post or does being a Duchess make you impervious to mysterious cooking smears and splatters?
Meghan loves a love note
Us Brits are, famously, undemonstrative about our feelings 365 days of the year. Which may be why Meghan’s obsession with writing love notes comes across as so odd. She tucks them into Archie and Lilibet’s (clearly not handmade) pocket advent calendar, with gentle parenting affirmations about how she loves them because they are “so kind”.
Later, Harry gets a love letter stuffed inside his cracker (see above). Imagine having to read a romantic note over Christmas dinner instead of a pun about penguins. This is the first time I, usually a staunch Meghan defender, can see why the UK Royals were so taken aback by all this Yank nonsense.
Spare a thought for the “Brooklyn Bummer”
This nickname sounds like one you’d give to a New York-based sex pest. But it’s actually what Meghan affectionately (?) calls her director, Michael Steed, because he bums her out by giving her directions AKA doing his job. His crime this time? Asking her to relocate those cheese puffs to make more room for the cracker crafting. What a bummer!
Broccoli is a crudité, allegedly
Or rather broccolini, which is tenderstem broccoli to you and I. Meghan prefers to arrange it to resemble a wreath on a platter, along with asparagus, thin radish slices and some herb garnish to look like a wreath. Then you dip it in some tahini-flavoured dip. Health foods should have no place at the Christmas nibbles table, and this is a food serving suggestion that should remain in California from whence it came. Say no to raw broc this holiday season!
With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration is streaming now on Netflix
