Meghan Markle Joins Royal Family for Christmas

The Royal account said: "Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have chosen to release official photographs to mark their engagement".

Markle smiled and gave a brief wave in her first public appearance with the Queen.

Also in the party were Prince Charles, who will become Markle's father-in-law when she and Harry marry in May 2018.

It was a chilly morning, so Markle rugged up in a tan coat from Canadian label Sentaler, brown suede boots and a brown beret for the outing, while Kate Middleton, who is pregnant with her third child, wore a festive red and green Miu Miu plaid coat, and a warm black hat.

This was the first Christmas the royal family had been joined by the American actress, who will marry Harry in Windsor Castle in May.

The wedding is breaking ground in several ways for the Royal Family because Markle is biracial as well as divorced. The crowd was larger than in previous years, perhaps because of curiosity about Markle.

Both couples spent Christmas with the wider royal family at Sandringham, attending church on Christmas Day.

All looked happy and relaxed as they followed the Duke of Edinburgh, at the traditional Christmas day church service.

The Queen, seated at a desk in her study, praised Manchester, hit by a suicide bomber in May, and London, which endured attacks on Parliament, London Bridge and other landmarks.

Obama said it was important for people to get offline and meet others in their communities, "because the truth is that on the internet everything is simplified and when you meet people face to face it turns out they are complicated", he said.

"I describe that hospital visit as a "privilege" because the patients I met were an example to us all, showing extraordinary bravery and resilience", she says.

On the 60th anniversary of her first televised Christmas address, Elizabeth said her reflections on the year had made her "grateful for the blessings of home and family", and praised her husband and his "unique" sense of humour. "Instead of staying up at the "big house" with Her Majesty, the two couples are enjoying a much more low-key family Christmas, along with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, just joining the rest of the royals for Church and lunch on Christmas Day", the British news site reported.

The Queen and Philip are spending the holidays at their country estate in Sandringham, 175 kilometres north of London. They traditionally exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.

Harry is due to marry his U.S. actress girlfriend Megan Markle on May 19 at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle near London.