Meghan Markle’s unexpected Thanksgiving guests at Montecito mansion revealed

The Duchess of Sussex has opened up about her family's "low-key" Thanksgiving plans, including the unexpected guests she always makes space for. 

Meghan and Prince Harry have celebrated the holidays for the past few years at their home in Montecito, California with their children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.

The Duchess' mother Doria Ragland is usually included in the festivities but Meghan revealed the other special guests who receive an invitation.

In an interview with Marie Claire, the Duchess shared: "I was thinking about, in the past few years of having Thanksgiving here, like many of us, I think you always make sure there's room at the table for your friends who don't have family, which is really key."

Meghan also revealed that Gloria Steinem "came for Thanksgiving" one year. The Duchess and the activist have previously teamed up to talk about the importance of voting and women's rights.

Talking about what the family likes to do on Thanksgiving, which falls on 28 November this year, Meghan added: "We're always making sure we have something fun to do. Like any other family you spend time having a great meal and then what do you do? Play games, all the same stuff, someone brings a guitar - fun."

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The Sussexes, who stepped back as senior royals in 2020, have their own family traditions during the festive season, with Archie and Lilibet leaving out "carrots for the reindeer" on Christmas eve.

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Meghan opened up about her love of the holidays as she joined a dinner hosted by Mina's List, an organisation that's part of the Archewell Foundation's Welcome Project. The initiative, which was launched last year, supports women who have resettled in the United States from Afghanistan.

Meghan's love for the holidays

The Duchess has always been a self-confessed foodie and would regularly share recipes on her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig.

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Her dishes for Thanksgiving included oven roasted chicken breast with mushroom and leek gravy and side dishes of roasted acorn squash wedge salad and almond butter bites.

She also revealed how her parents would help others in need during the holidays, writing: "Both my parents came from little, so they made a choice to give a lot – buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to patients in hospice care, donating any spare change in their pocket to those asking for it, and performing quiet acts of grace."