Meghan Markle reveals surprise Thanksgiving visit sparking speculation about her inner circle

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, had a very special Thanksgiving celebration, as on the eve of this year's celebration, she had a very special visit for such a special date, which she shared with her husband, Prince Harry, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, at their Montecito home.

In fact, the couple is known to have an open-door policy for friends or family over the holidays, and this is what happened last year, with the arrival of a celebrity who is close to the Sussex family.

In an interview with Marie Claire, Meghan revealed that the special visit was none other than from prominent feminist Gloria Steinem, who is recognised as a person much admired by the couple:

"I was thinking that, in recent years, when celebrating Thanksgiving here, like many of us, I think you always make sure that there is room at the table for your friends who don't have family, which is really key. So Steinem came for Thanksgiving" in 2023.

A family party at the Sussexes' home

The celebration was more familiar and discreet than ostentatious, as Meghan and Harry prefer to respect the connotation of intimacy and coexistence with close people rather than an event that they could share on social networks for their followers to follow.

"It's always really calm and peaceful," Meghan said. "Being around my mom is great," Doria Ragland, who even lives close to the family, also in a residential neighborhood in California.

"I love the holidays. We always make sure we have something fun to do," Meghan added. "Like any other family, you spend time enjoying good food and then what do you do? We play some games, someone brings a guitar... fun."

He also said that as his children, aged three and five, grow older, "every year the party gets better".

"At first, I think, as a mother with kids, you just enjoy having them there, but they don't understand everything that's going on yet," Meghan continued. "But now we're at the age where I can't wait to see it through their lens every year."

In addition, the young mother explained that she places great importance on Archie and Lilibet experiencing the "magic" of these traditional holidays, such as "the great recipes that end up connecting with a formative memory" at Thanksgiving. "Every holiday is a new adventure," Meghan said.

Years earlier, she also revealed to host Ellen DeGeneres how she planned this celebration for 2021: "I love to cook. We'll be home and we'll relax and settle in. It's our second Thanksgiving at home, in California, so it will be nice."

Even DeGeneres, who also lives in Montecito, joked: "What time should we show up?"

While in 2016, when she celebrated her first Thanksgiving alongside Harry, Meghan revealed that she had cooked the perfect turkey and shared an aged-effect photo on her Instagram account and wrote: "Oh, that time I roasted a pretty perfect Thanksgiving turkey! The question is, can I do it again? The pressure is on me!"

In fact, Meghan had spoken about how important this date is to her since she was a child, through her former lifestyle blog, The Tig:

"Despite the contrast of my two worlds growing up, there was one powerful similarity: my parents came from little, so they made the decision to give a lot: buying turkeys for homeless shelters on Thanksgiving, delivering meals to hospice patients, donating whatever change they had in their pockets to those who asked for it and performing silent acts of grace, whether it was a hug, a smile or a pat on the back to show those in need that they would be OK."

"This is what I saw as a child and that's what I became as a young adult with a social conscience to do what I could and at least speak up when I knew something was wrong."