Meghan Markle is already arranging holiday reunions with friends in California, a source close to the couple told PEOPLE on Oct. 14.
“She does miss home,” the source said. Meghan, 45, is doing well in Britain but misses her mother, Doria Ragland, who lives in Los Angeles.
The Sussexes relocated in August for what their representative described as an “extended period” in the U.K. The aim was to let their children spend more time in Harry’s home country, according to ELLE.
Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have settled into school, the PEOPLE source said. Their parents are working during school hours and keeping weekends for family time.
Doria Will Help Decide Where They Spend Thanksgiving and Christmas
Harry and Meghan intend to celebrate both holidays with Doria, PEOPLE reported on Oct. 11. Whether she joins them in Britain or they travel to California will depend on her preference. In a 2024 Marie Claire interview, Meghan described Thanksgivings with games and guests without family nearby. Gloria Steinem had joined them one year.
The couple have kept their Montecito home, and their businesses remain based in the United States. Meghan’s As Ever team is still in California, where she is expected to make regular work trips, as ELLE reported.
The Sussexes last spent Christmas with the wider royal family at Sandringham in 2018. A source told The Sunday Times, in comments quoted by PEOPLE, that they were not expecting an invitation this year.
Her Montecito Home Inspired a $148 Advent Calendar
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Meghan’s California house appears on the packaging of As Ever’s holiday collaboration with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés, introduced Oct. 1. The limited-edition Advent calendar contains 24 handcrafted chocolates in a keepsake box depicting the home and garden decorated for Christmas.
The illustration includes two palm trees and chickens, details drawn from the family’s property. Meghan told The Cut in 2022 that Harry compared the connected trees to the couple when they first visited the property.
Inside, the flavors incorporate As Ever’s strawberry, raspberry and blackberry spreads and orange marmalade. The assortment also includes a chocolate finished with the brand’s flower sprinkles and a dark chocolate ganache truffle. Countdown numbers reproduce Meghan’s handwriting in edible gold luster.
Meghan shared footage from the project’s June planning sessions in Instagram Stories at the launch, including a golf-cart ride with Compartés CEO Jonathan Grahm, according to PEOPLE. Early sketches appeared alongside Pula, the family’s Labrador, carrying a toy shaped like a jar of fruit spread.
In the 2025 Netflix special With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration, she prepared Advent calendars for Archie and Lilibet, filling the pockets with handwritten messages and small gifts. She hoped they would keep the calendars for years.
The commercial calendar is available for preorder, with the product page promising arrival in early November. Shipping is limited to the 50 U.S. states.
Nottingham Reunited Meghan With Her Cookbook Collaborators
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Harry and Meghan visited the Community Recording Studio, Himmah Hub and Epic Partners on Oct. 15, their first joint charity outing since returning to Britain. They had made their first official royal visit together in Nottingham in December 2017, days after announcing their engagement.
At the studio, Meghan joined girls for a bracelet-making and confidence-building workshop while Harry met musician and youth mentor Jah Digga, a former participant. Co-founder Trevor Rose told PEOPLE that Harry had kept in contact between visits, calling to discuss the organization’s work and progress. Harry first visited the studio privately in 2013, according to the couple’s office.
At Himmah, Meghan embraced women from the Hubb Community Kitchen, who had contributed recipes to Together: Our Community Cookbook in 2018. The group began cooking for their families and neighbors after the Grenfell Tower fire, and Meghan wrote the book’s foreword.
“We’ve missed her,” contributor Leila Hedjem told PEOPLE. Another participant, Intlak Alsaiegh, said they had stayed in touch with Meghan through WhatsApp. Four cookbook contributors and longtime volunteer Charlotte Wall helped Himmah’s chefs prepare lunch for about 50 guests.
The Sussexes’ office said proceeds from the cookbook helped Himmah buy kitchen equipment and cover food-bank costs in 2021. Harry later funded more than 650 food parcels and equipment for its community hub. During the visit, the couple joined volunteers packing food for local households.
At their final stop, Epic Partners, they helped a young participant decorate a cake for co-chief operations officer Michaela Castillo-Williams’ 30th birthday. She had progressed from volunteering to employment and then leadership through the organization’s work.