When a "commoner" marries into the royal family, it's pretty much a given that we're all going to be obsessed with them. This is for good reason, of course. Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are both smart, fascinating women and they give us a window into the weird, tradition-filled world of the royals.
Marriage is always about compromise and merging two separate lives and separate families into one new unit. Here's the thing about marrying into to the royal family, though: The non-royal generally has to do a lot more compromising and sacrificing than the royal. There's not really, for example, a discussion about how to split up the holidays. You spend all of the holidays with the Queen because she's the Queen.
Typically, these intimate holiday celebrations are limited to official members of the royal family—as in you have to have put a ring on it or you're not on the list.
Last year, Meghan became the first non-royal to score an invitation to the Queen's annual Christmas celebration at her Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where the Windsor clan always spend the Christmas holidays. This year, it looks like Elizabeth is breaking royal tradition again for another member of Meghan's family: Her mother, Doria Ragland.
According to The Sun, a "senior royal source" says Her Majesty has invited Doria to spend the holidays with the royal family. This is a huge deal since royal in-laws aren't usually invited to do, well, much of anything important with the royal family. Sure, they're invited to weddings and christenings, but they can't call dibs on Christmas or Easter or even necessarily tag along for the royals' celebrations.
So why is an exception being made for Doria?
"It’s a mark of the Queen’s respect for Meghan and an acknowledgement that she doesn’t have any other relations in this country—unlike Kate who has the support of a very close family," the senior source told Daily Express.
It probably doesn't hurt that Doria and the Queen have reportedly bonded as well. Clearly, it pays to be on the good side of the woman who single-handed approves the guest list.
