Meghan & Harry Are Spending Christmas In The Most Exciting Place

After a doozy of a year fighting back against the British tabloids, where will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spend Christmas 2019? According to a statement made by Buckingham Palace on Nov. 13, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are taking some time for a much-needed getaway to the United States, where they'll be spending the holiday with Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month," a spokesperson for the palace announced. "Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, [the couple] will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the Duchess’ mother Doria."

Oh, and — in case you were concerned — Queen Elizabeth is totally on board with this plan. "This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the Royal Family, and has the support of Her Majesty The Queen," the spokesperson continued. The big news comes via royal reporter Omid Scobie, who also noted that "for security reasons, the Palace will not be sharing further details on Harry and Meghan's holiday schedule."

Scobie shared Buckingham Palace's majorly exciting announcement on Twitter on Nov. 13:

The announcement of Harry and Meghan's Christmas plans comes weeks after People broke news that the couple might reportedly be spending Thanksgiving in the States as well. “The duke and duchess have a full schedule of engagements and commitments until mid-November, after which they will be taking some much-needed family time,” a source reportedly told People on Oct. 20.

The time in America with Meghan's family will hopefully be a welcome retreat from the hardships the couple recently admitted they've been enduring in their ITV documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired Oct. 20 in the UK.

After admitting that she's "not OK" with the way she is sometimes treated by the press, Meghan explained that for a while she tried to adopt the British "stiff upper lip" to cope with the stress.

"In all honesty, I have said for a long time to H — that’s what I call him — it's not enough to just survive something, right? That's not the point of life. You've gotta thrive, you've gotta feel happy," she explained. "I think I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried. But I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging."

Harry expressed similar sentiments, noting that he, too, has been hurt by the tabloids. “Part of this job, and part of any job, like everybody, is putting on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff, but again, for me and again for my wife, of course there is a lot of stuff that hurts, especially when the majority of it is untrue,” Harry shared.

Here's to hoping that some time home with Ragland will prove to be restorative for Harry and Meghan during these trying times.