Holidays in the Great White North! Duchess Meghan (née Markle) and her husband, Prince Harry, have decided to take their 7-month-old son, Archie, to Toronto for the Christmas holiday — an obvious break from royal tradition. But an insider dished to Life & Style exclusively that the 37-year-old mother is really excited to be spending time in the Canadian city.
“Meghan’s so excited and relaxed back in Toronto,” the source revealed. “They may go to Banff [to go] skiing over New Year’s. It depends. They’re going to play it by ear. But right now they’re going out to dinners, they’re having fun. They’re not hiding but nobody really notices when they’re in Toronto.”
Believe it or not, the royal couple has done the ~romantic Canadian getaway~ thing before, back when the former actress lived in Toronto while she was shooting her show, Suits. “Remember that Harry went to see Meghan so many times before they announced that they were dating and nobody seemed to ever have seen them,” the insider added. “They know how to hide — without hiding — in Toronto.”
According to Closer Weekly, the royal family is staying with the duchess’ close friend and stylist, Jessica Mulroney, and her husband, Ben, during their trip. The low-key aspect of spending Christmas with her Canadian pals was a huge plus in the royal’s eyes.
“It was exactly what Meghan wanted,” an insider told the outlet. “She wanted Archie’s first Christmas to be low-key and mellow where they can all hang out in their pajamas in the living room and laugh and joke — and not have it be very stuffy with the rest of the royal family.”
And before you ask, her husband, 35, was also on board with the change of plans. “Harry was excited, too, and the fact that they’re still in the Commonwealth made it much easier for them to escape without having to answer a lot of questions from everyone else,” the insider added.
Needless to say, it seems as though the royal couple is thrilled to be taking a break from the formal tradition of Queen Elizabeth‘s Sandringham celebration. There’s always next year!