By Chloe Franses

Every December, Britain rehearses the same ritual.

Talk of tradition, family values, cosy aesthetics and charitable goodwill wraps itself around the public sphere like tinsel. But this year, two different versions of that festive script are preparing to dominate screens: a new Christmas special from Meghan on Netflix and the Princess of Wales’s annual Together at Christmas service.

On the surface, they are simply wholesome holiday offerings. Look closer, though, and they reveal a deeper truth: Britain’s culture wars have become seasonal.

Both specials sell a kind of curated authenticity: intimate reflections, feel-good service, a soft-focus portrayal of family unity and moral warmth.

Yet the reactions they provoke – from adoring fans to vitriolic detractors – track closely with the UK’s anxieties about class identity, race, belonging and who gets to be the custodian of ‘proper’ British tradition.

The UK has long used Christmas as a stage on which to rehearse national identity. The monarchy, with its candlelit choirs and nostalgic imagery, represents a vision of Britain steeped in continuity and respectability.

The Princess of Wales’s televised carol service leans into this: it’s visually classical, heavy with Anglican symbolism, and grounded in a model of public duty shaped by upper-middle-class norms.

By contrast, Meghan’s Christmas content is a slick production with lifestyle framing and aspirational domesticity, which taps into a different cultural grammar.

It’s less about tradition and more about self-styled empowerment, it’s media savvy with........

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