King Charles has made a festive exception to custom, permitting Princess Margaret’s grandson, Samuel Chatto, to convey his girlfriend, Eleanor Ekserdjian, to Christmas at Sandringham.
This marks a major second in royal protocol, because it echoes the 2017 determination by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who made the same exception for Meghan Markle.
The Duchess of Sussex, then Prince Harry’s girlfriend, was welcomed to the royal gathering 5 months earlier than they tied the knot at Windsor’s St George’s Chapel.
Before that, the principles have been strictly “I do” – Princess Kate needed to wait till her 2011 wedding ceremony, and the Duchess of Edinburgh wasn’t invited till after her 1999 marriage to Prince Edward.
As for Samuel and Eleanor, royal watchers are already buzzing with pleasure, speculating that this may very well be a touch of a marriage within the close to future. After all, it’s not day-after-day you get to spend Christmas with the royals.
The couple has been courting since 2021, with Eleanor confirming their relationship, saying, “We are a pair.”
One eagle-eyed royal fan took to social media, proclaiming, “This is a transparent signal that there will likely be a royal wedding ceremony within the new 12 months!”
Meanwhile, Samuel’s mom, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, continues to make her mark within the artwork world, frequently submitting her works to the Royal Academy’s prestigious summer season exhibition.
