King Charles allows royal to flout Sandringham rule first broken by Meghan Markle

Princess Margaret's grandson, Samuel Chatto, was given special permission to invite his girlfriend, Eleanor Ekserdjian, to spend Christmas with the royals - and it could be a sign of things to come

A Royal Christmas tradition, once broken for Meghan Markle's benefit in 2017, has been disregarded again and it could hint at an upcoming wedding.

For years, it was a strict no-no for Royal Family members to invite their partners to Sandringham before they were married. Notables like Kate Middleton and Mike Tindall had to wait until after their weddings.

However, this unwritten rule was shattered when Meghan Markle received an invitation in 2017.

This year, Princess Margaret's grandson, Samuel Chatto, was granted special permission to invite his girlfriend, Eleanor Ekserdjian, to celebrate Christmas with the royals.

An "observer of the Windsors" told the Daily Mail's Richard Eden that this could signal imminent wedding bells, reports the Express.

"This is a clear sign there will be a royal wedding in the new year," they suggested.

Samuel, 28, a pottery artist based in West Sussex, began dating fellow-artist Eleanor in 2021. She was spotted walking beside him as they headed to St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day.

Samuel kept cosy in a £115 charcoal and beige merino wool Highgrove Heritage Scarf, which The King gifted to nearly all of his close relatives last Christmas.

His artistic flair is inherited from his father, Daniel Chatto, a former actor turned renowned painter. He wed Lady Sarah Chatto, the daughter of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, niece of Queen Elizabeth II and cousin of King Charles III, in 1994.

Samuel, who has a rich artistic lineage, shared: "I've always had a strong affinity with creating objects, having spent much of my childhood crafting imagined landscapes and sculptural models, which naturally led me to clay during my later years at school."

His journey has been remarkable, leading to an apprenticeship with Japanese porcelain master Yagi Akira in Kyoto. This prestigious connection earned Samuel a spot at the Japanese State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in June, where he rubbed shoulders with royalty including King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince William, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Adding to his list of achievements, Sam, who is 29th in line to the throne, embarked on a transformative six-week yoga teacher training course in India in 2019, which he called an "incredibly eye opening experience".