Meghan Markle's Christmas project is latest hint that UK move wasn't on the cards for long before big announcement
This new launch would've taken a lot of planning but so does a relocation and yet there's no hint of it in the design
The Duchess of Sussex is getting into the festive spirit early this year with her latest launch, As Ever's first ever Holiday Advent Calendar, but it's got me thinking of something other than Christmas. It made me wonder if the Sussexes' UK move wasn't actually being planned for that long before the world heard about it.
The new calendar is created in collaboration with LA chocolatier Compartes and is the shape of Harry and Meghan's Montecito home, complete with illustrations of their chickens. The goodies inside are inspired by the house and garden too.
Everything about the launch screams California and yet I can only imagine the interest if she'd leaned into a "UK Christmas" idea and worked with a British brand on British flavours. It would've tied in with her and Harry's move and the clips we've already seen of them embracing their new countryside life.
Depending on whether the Duke and Duchess fly back to spend Christmas with her mother Doria in the US, this year could be their first festive season in the UK since 2019. An advent calendar focused on her new stage of life and new home would've stood out amongst her best-selling California-inspired products.
Clearly, this calendar was in the works for a long time and maybe Meghan just wanted to stay on-brand with the Montecito theme. However, it's also potentially possible that she started planning this long before they ever considered moving back to the UK and that this decision was actually more recent than we thought.
There are other hints too, including that the family visited King Charles and Queen Camilla in July and apparently didn't mention it. When the news broke in August, it was reported that the King was told about the move only a few days earlier.
Then there's the matter of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's British school. The children were initially enrolled at one school before being pulled out a few days in and started at another. It's understood that the family's private security team had concerns about how the distance and heavy traffic on the original school run route could affect keeping them secure.
The security team had apparently practiced the route in the summer holidays but ITV's Royal Editor Chris Ship claimed in September, "The decision to relocate was taken so quickly last month, no one had experienced the real-life school run."
Unless the Duke and Duchess publicly reveal when they started preparing for the move we'll never know for sure but these factors could all suggest it was the work of a few months rather than, say, half a year or more.
They've still got their Montecito home too and perhaps the advent calendar is also a sign that Meghan's heart is in California. A source close to the Sussexes previously claimed to the Sunday Times that they believed the return will be an "extended period of time" rather than forever.
However, Prince Harry recently said, "It's been great. It's been great to be back on British soil. The kids are happy in school and it gives me a chance to be able to really focus on the [2027] Invictus Games."
Perhaps if Meghan releases another As Ever advent calendar next year it will be a British home themed one to go alongside her 2026 one.
