This Annual Royal Tradition Has Reportedly Been Canceled

Joining the royal family has required that Meghan Markle participate in all sorts of royal traditions, from appearing with everyone at the annual Trooping the Colour to the family stroll after the Christmas church service. But her love of animals has led her to reportedly skip an annual grouse hunt that's been hosted by the Queen each holiday season for decades. Now, reports indicate that the one tradition she avoids is canceled altogether this year.

The Daily Mail reported that the annual grouse hunt hosted on the 50,000 acre Balmoral Castle estate has been delted from the calendar. "There probably will be no grouse shooting on Balmoral this season," an estate source told the publication. "It's very disappointing."

The cancellation didn't come about through activism on Markle's part. A severe winter storm earlier in the year gave rise to an infestation of heather beetles, according to Vanity Fair, which are a threat to the grouse population. Plus, the birds aren't breeding enough to support the huge hunt that was expected at the end of the year.

In the past, the traditional grouse hunt has been a rumored point of conflict for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Early in their relationship, tabloid reports suggested that Markle forbid Prince Harry from participating in the annual hunt in 2017. One source said that the hunt "was always going to be a tricky issue. Meghan is a keen animal rights campaigner and doesn’t like hunting in any form. Harry loves it and has always been out there on Boxing Day. But if it means breaking with long-standing royal traditions to avoid upsetting her, so be it. It’s fair to say that there are some pretty stunned faces around here."

The following year, Prince Harry reportedly sat out of a late summer grouse hunt hosted at Balmoral in September. Then in December, Markle joined Prince Harry for the Boxing Day grouse hunt—putting rumors that she banned him from the practice to rest. "Reports that Meghan had ‘banned’ Harry from taking part or was opposed because she is a vegan are completely inaccurate and far off the mark," a royal source told Elle last year. "She hasn’t banned him from anything."

The hunt's cancellation won't keep Meghan Markle and Prince Harry from visiting the property altogether. They're reportedly expected to visit Balmoral Castle later this summer.

Halie LeSavage is a contributing writer at Glamour. Follow her @halielesavage.

Originally Appeared on Glamour