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VENICE, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 26: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE)  Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex attends Holiday Dinner for The Welcome Project in Celebration of Community at Our Place on October 26, 2024 in Venice, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/The Archewell Foundation via Getty Images)© Eric Charbonneau,Eric Charbonneau/The Archewell Foundation via Getty Images

Meghan Markle reveals what Thanksgiving is like for the Sussex family

The Duchess also revealed who came over one year for the holiday


NOVEMBER 27, 2024 12:24 PM EST

Thanksgiving is “always pretty low-key" for the Sussexes. Meghan Markle opened up about the holiday in an interview with Marie Claire, sharing: “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," the Duchess of Sussex added.

Meghan admitted that "being close" to her mom, Doria Ragland, who also lives in California, is "great." She said, "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 political activist Gloria Steinem, whom she cold-called voters with in 2020, "came for Thanksgiving" one year. The Duchess stated that "every single holiday is a new adventure" and stressed that for her, it's important that her children, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie, be able to experience the "magic" of traditions like "great recipes that they end up connecting to a formative memory" at Thanksgiving and putting carrots out "for the reindeer" at Christmas.

Meghan Markle pictured at a 2024 holiday dinner for Afghan women who are starting new lives in the U.S.© Eric Charbonneau/The Archewell Foundation via Getty Images
Meghan Markle pictured at a 2024 holiday dinner for Afghan women who are starting new lives in the U.S.

The mom of two gushed that she loves "the holidays," noting that her and Prince Harry's daughter and son are now "three and five, so every year it gets better."

"At first, I think as a mom with children you’re just enjoying having them there, but they’re not understanding everything that’s happening yet," the Duchess said. "But now we’re at the age where I just can’t wait to see it through their lens every year."

Meghan spoke with Marie Claire at a holiday dinner, hosted by the Duchess and The Archewell Foundation, for the Southern California Welcome Project. “From my standpoint, I think part of why we wanted to make sure we had this opportunity to all be together again—so many of us—right now is that as the holidays come up, and have already begun in many regards, it brings up so much emotion for people,” the Duchess told the dinner guests.

“You miss home, you miss your country, and also can find comfort in the new community that you have here,” Meghan continued. “I’m grateful that we are able to be a part of that community.”