Animal lover Meghan joins royals for Boxing Day 'shooting feast'

A keen animal lover, Meghan is understood to have still taken part in the feast. Photo / Getty Images

The Duchess of Sussex joined Prince Harry and members of the Royal Family for a traditional shooting lunch yesterday, despite claims that she opposes bloodsports.

Meghan, 37, who is expecting her first child in June, arrived for the 'cold cuts' Boxing Day feast after her husband, Prince Harry, had spent the morning bagging pheasants with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William.

According to the Daily Mail, she was accompanied by the Duchess of Cambridge in another sign of solidarity between the two women after weeks of reports about their undoubtedly awkward relationship.

The merry party took place at Wood Farm, the five-bedroom farmhouse where Prince Philip spends much of his retirement.

A Sandringham insider said: "The men went out as usual for the shoot after a hearty breakfast.

"A buffet is laid out of kedgeree, bacon and eggs, cereals and toast to set them up for the day.

"It's cold trudging across the muddy fields so you need plenty of sustenance."

Both Meghan and Kate stayed at the house during the hunt. Photo / Getty Images

In years gone by the Queen and the royal wives would often be seen following along, picking up pheasants, partridges and the occasional duck.

Her Majesty was often photographed wringing the neck of injured birds, much to the annoyance of animal welfare groups, but at 92, those days have long gone.

Pregnant Meghan stayed inside in the cold during the morning session, while Kate remained at Anmer Hall, her ten-bedroom house on the estate, looking after her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis.

But at lunchtime the Merry Wives of Windsor were all driven to Wood Farm to be reunited- Meghan travelled in a Range Rover with the Queen and Prince Philip, 97, who missed church on Christmas Day.

A buffet was laid out at Wood Farm of cold meats, hot sausages, soup and salads, with spirits and tea to warm up the shooters, which this year also included Prince Andrew and, for the first time, his son-in-law Jack Brooksbank.

Princess Eugenie joined her new husband and the others for lunch.

The insider said : "There is a special de-robing room on the side of the house and they all go in there and take off their muddy clothes and boots.

"Then they go into a side room which is specially designed for shooting parties where they toddle around in their socks helping themselves to lunch.

"The whole thing is incredibly relaxed and everyone is normally in a great mood.

"Although he can't shoot anymore Prince Philip loves being there and so does the Queen.

"She will be delighted that Kate and Meghan have sorted out their problems and that the year has ended on a high with the whole family in harmony."

After lunch the men continued shooting while Meghan and Kate returned to Sandringham for tea with the Queen and Prince Philip.

The Duke Of Edinburgh during a royal shoot in Sandringham. Photo / Getty Images

It's believed Harry and Meghan departed from Norfolk last night, presumably to spend time with her mother, Doria Ragland, as did William and Kate, who are expected to spend some time with Kate's family in Berkshire.

Earlier this month it was wrongly claimed that the animal-loving American had "banned" her new husband from taking part in bloodsports, which she has always opposed.

But as the Mail revealed yesterday, Harry had every intention of taking part.

Harry has been shooting at Sandringham since he was 12 having been taught by Prince Charles as a young child and has become a crack shot, killing deer, wild boar and even a water buffalo, as well as pheasant and grouse.

The idea that Meghan had banned him from taking part stemmed from the fact that the former actress, who once designed a pair of "vegan leather" trousers as part of a clothing range, has previously described herself as a "principled animal lover" who refuses to promote fur and once described herself in an interview as being a vegan during the week.

But sources close to the couple have said this couldn't be further from the truth, and pointed out that even if the duchess, who adopted two dogs from a welfare shelter in Canada, did advocate wearing ethically-made clothes, for example, she has always openly eaten meat.

Her former lifestyle blog, the Tig, was full of recipes for her favourite meat-based meals, including boar ragu, and Harry proposed as they cooked a roast chicken dinner.

"Meghan has never had an issue with Harry shooting, as it is something he has done for many years," the source said.

"It is completely untrue to say she has banned him from anything, particularly this. Harry couldn't attend last year's shoot as he had to drive to London for work."

A second source said that Harry had always maintained shooting is a sustainable field sport and his stance hasn't changed - he has even acquired a black Labrador puppy to train as a gun dog.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady recently revealed that Harry's mother, Princess Diana, was against bloodsports but allowed her sons to take part in family traditions and dubbed her son "The Killer Wales".

Prince Charles and Prince Harry, on a shoot in Sandringham. Photo / Getty Images

He tweeted: "Princess Diana WAS against bloodsports. She killed the stag [a reference to how she once went deer stalking at Balmoral] because 'they wanted me to'. 'What is it with this family that they love killing things? (as the boys were hunting rabbits at Windsor),' I remember her saying in the kitchen at Kensington Palace."

In 2004 Harry was photographed smiling triumphantly as he crouched over a fallen water buffalo, rifle in hand.

He killed the one-ton water beast on a hunting trip in Argentina during a gap year trip to South America.