Prince Harry, Meghan Markle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won't be celebrating Christmas morning together in Sandringham. Pictured: Prince Harry, Markle visit Redwoods Tree Walk on October 31, 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty Images/Kirsty Wigglesworth-WPA pool

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expected to spend Christmas morning apart due to a royal tradition.

Darren McGrady, Queen Elizabeth II’s former chef, told Daily Mail that it has been a common practice in the royal household for females to enjoy a light breakfast of sliced fruit, grapefruit, toast, and coffee delivered to their rooms.

The meal of the male royals, on the other hand, consist of eggs, bacon, mushrooms, kippers and grilled kidneys. They typically consume the meal before they head to their Christmas church service at St. Magdalene Church at 11 a.m.

Grant Harrold, an etiquette expert, said that this tradition is not unique to the members of the royal family.

“In a lot of aristocratic homes, it does still happen that men will have breakfast downstairs while the women have breakfast in their bedroom,” he told The Sun's Fabulous Online.

Harrold also said that the breakfast routine of single royal women is different from those who are married because the latter prefer to eat inside of their room.

“The single ladies have to be seen as sociable whereas the ladies who were married didn’t have to come down and socialize,” he said.

Meanwhile, Meghan Markle won’t be allowed to open her Christmas presents on Dec. 25, but she will be able to do so on Christmas Eve. This tradition has been confirmed on the royal family’s website.

“On Christmas Eve, the Royal Family lay out their presents on treacle tables and will exchange gifts at teatime,” it stated.

And on Christmas Day, Markle, Prince Harry and the other royals will attend two Christmas church services. The first one will start at 9 a.m. and the second one will start at 11 a.m. The first church service is a smaller one where Queen Elizabeth receives communion. The second service is a bigger and more public one.

The Queen is also expected to give a speech at 3 p.m., and the members of the royal family will watch it in a separate room. On Boxing Day, the royal family will take part in the Christmas pheasant shoot.

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