The Queen went out of her way to welcome Meghan Markle to the Royal Family in her Christmas message as she said she looked forward to welcoming 'new members' into the family in the New Year.
A framed photograph of the bride-to-be with her beau Prince Harry was displayed with other family pictures as the monarch spoke, and the couple also featured in video footage aired at the end of the festive broadcast.
She will also have been talking about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new child which is due to be born in April 2018.
The Queen did not, however, mention the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge by name.
A framed photograph of the bride-to-be with her beau Prince Harry was displayed with other family pictures as the monarch spoke
The Queen will pay tribute to the Royal Family during her 60th Christmas speech as she poses next to photos of her and Prince Philip, her great-grandchildren Charlotte and George, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Prince Charles and Camilla
The monarch gave the speech in the 1844 room alongside portraits of her and Prince Philip and her great-grandchildren, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Also visible on another table were the official engagement portrait of Prince Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle as well as Prince Charles and his wife Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall taken earlier this year by Mario Testino.
The Queen and her husband featured in a black and white image from their 1947 wedding, and in a colour photo released to mark their 70th wedding anniversary celebrated in November.
Taken by photographer Chris Jackson, the portrait of Prince George was issued by Kensington Palace on July 22nd to mark the youngster's fourth birthday.
The photo of Charlotte was taken by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, to mark her second birthday on May 2nd.
Pictured left to right: The Queen and Prince Philip on their wedding day in 1947; the royal couple on their 70th wedding anniversary this year; Princess Charlotte's official second birthday portrait; Prince George's official fourth birthday portrait
The Queen and Prince Philip feature in a black and white image from their 1947 wedding
Photographs of the Queen's great-grandchildren, Prince George (left) and Princess Charlotte (right), will also be on display
The portrait of Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall was taken earlier this year as a 70th birthday present from Camilla to Charles.
Prince Harry and Ms Markle were photographed outside Kensington Palace to mark their engagement announcement in late November.
Ms Markle, 36, who is spending Christmas at Sandringham with Harry and other senior royals, is likely to have watched the Queen's message with members of the monarchy.
Her appearance in the Queen's end of year address to the nation is another sign of how quickly she has been accepted into Britain's most prominent family.
Earlier today, Meghan stunned the crowds as she attended a Christmas church service with the Royal Family.
The photograph of the prince and his fiancee, and their video footage, were from the day of their engagement announcement in November
The actress stepped out in an eye-catching brown beret and wrapped up warm against the chilly winter temperatures in a beige £986 Sentaler coat which she tied up at the front.
Meghan clutched on to her Royal beau Prince Harry, 33, and proudly displayed the engagement ring that he himself designed before their engagement in November.
As well as her beret and beige combination, Meghan wore a pair of Stuart Weitzman over-the-knee boots and carried a $1,550 leather handbag by Chloe.
She is also wearing a pair of Birks snowflakes earrings - which she donned at the Queen's Christmas lunch.
This year, it is understood that Prince Harry and his fiancee will stay with Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate at Anmer Hall, their home in the Sandringham grounds, rather than in the main house.
Markle will have to adjust to the royal family's idiosyncratic ways and customs, ingrained in centuries of tradition.
Earlier today, Meghan stunned the crowds as she attended a Christmas church service in Sandringham with the Royal Family
The pressure of dressing for one's first Royal Christmas with the Firm at the Queen's Sandringham Estate appeared to have gone to Meghan Markle's head yesterday – in the shape of a Christmas pudding-inspired hat, complete with curved chocolate tuile on the side.
While the Queen's floral-decorated tangerine-brimmed hat and matching coat had just the right amount of citrus zing, Meghan's – according to royal watchers – was the one very brown fashion faux pas in what was otherwise a triumph of understated, polished elegance for the 36-year-old American actress, who stuck to her signature neutral-palette style for the first official outing with her future in-laws.
Meghan chose a £986 long, wide collar wrap coat by her one of her favourite Canadian designers, Sentaler.
Meghan Markle's hat was a fashon faux pas in what was otherwise a triumph of understated, polished elegance for the 36-year-old American actress, writes Helen Weathers
The chocolate truffle of a hat – designer as yet unknown – perched on Meghan's glossy hair which divided opinion and sent social media into overdrive
Its belt was tied with what has become Meghan's trademark bow, the coat's asymmetric neckline and cinched-in waist gave her petite frame the illusion of curves.
Occasionally removing her gloves to show off her engagement ring to the crowds, Meghan's sparkle was matched by the £5,250 Birks Snowflake large round jacket earrings from Mappin and Webb.
While other female royals favoured the safe clutch bag, Meghan's £1,055 red and tan Pixie circle bag from Chloe struck a youthful, trendy and fun note, as did her thigh-high £695 Stuart Weitzman Highland boots in tan suede.
Stylish, chic, glamorous and sophisticated – if a bit metropolitan for the Norfolk countryside – it was almost full fashion marks for Meghan, who managed to resist morphing overnight into an overblown Hollywood version of English royalty.
It was just that chocolate truffle of a hat – designer as yet unknown – perched on Meghan's glossy hair which divided opinion and sent social media into overdrive.
Kate, five months pregnant, wore an on-trend, very festive but formal £2,655 Miu Miu green and red checked double-breasted coat with gilt buttons, teamed with black fake fur hat, gloves, clutch bag and £335 Tod's suede block heel courts
But, as usual, it was the Queen who stole the show in a bright tangerine coat dress with epaulettes, worn over a green floral dress
'Why are none of the royal reporters mentioning Meghan Markle's nutty hat?' asked one.
'Is Meghan Markle's hat sponsored by Thornton's chocs?' asked another.
A third remarked: 'Possibility the ugliest hat I've ever seen.' However, there were some fans.
One observer remarked, 'I especially love Meghan Markle's hat,' while another proclaimed 'Meghan Markle's Christmas hat is the only Christmas speech we need'.
Kate, five months pregnant, wore an on-trend, very festive but formal £2,655 Miu Miu green and red checked double-breasted coat with gilt buttons, teamed with black fake fur hat, gloves, clutch bag and £335 Tod's suede block heel courts.
Eden flower drop earrings from Kiki McDonough, costing around £4,500, more than matched Meghan's sparkle.
But, as usual, it was the Queen who stole the show in a bright tangerine coat dress with epaulettes, worn over a green floral dress, and that matching hat with flower detail, all designed by royal favourite Angela Kelly.
It has always been a rather lonely walk for Prince Harry. As the rest of the Royal family strode like the animals to the ark, two by two, accompanied by their spouses and children on the annual frosty morning stroll to St Mary Magdalene Church, the Prince has usually walked with his brother and sister-in-law. Yesterday, the Queen’s grandson looked proud to have his beautiful fiancée on his arm.
Wearing an elegant camel coat, with a tan hat and heeled boots, and carrying a chic tan leather bag, Meghan Markle proved once again that she is a natural, as - in a break with tradition - she joined the Royal family for her first British Christmas.
And it was abundantly clear to the crowds watching that Meghan is already well versed in royal protocol, seeming utterly at ease as she walked with the rest of the family to the annual Christmas Day service at Sandringham, even demurely bowing her head...
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