The royal family will soon be expanding its size and its social boundaries. Prince Henry of Wales (informally known as Prince Harry), 33, and American actress Meghan Markle, 36, announced their engagement on Monday, November 27th at Kensington Palace. On the following day it was revealed that the wedding will take take place in May of 2018 in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The royal family is going to pay for the ceremony. The couple has been dating for about a year, but their first public outing together was not until September of this year at the Invictus Games. They will attend their first public event together as an engaged couple on Friday at a charity fair in Nottingham, England.
The engagement of the Prince of Wales and Markle is unprecedented. Markle is the first American woman to marry into the royal family since Wallis Simpson in the early 20th century. The actress is also biracial— her mother is a black yoga instructor and her father is a white cinematographer— and is entering a royal family that is racially homogenous and has been for hundreds of years. She attended a Catholic school in Los Angeles and was raised Catholic. If Prince Harry had married her before the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013, he would have been disqualified from the line of succession to the throne, in which he is currently fifth (the royal family has had a rough history with Catholicism). Markle has also been divorced, which was not accepted by the Church of England until 2002. Lori Black says that the complexity and diversity involved with the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan shows that “the dynamic of the royal family is changing” and that “the future of the British monarchy is becoming more diverse and inclusive”.
The engagement marks a milestone in Prince Harry’s recovery from years of controversy. The Prince committed some questionable actions throughout his teens and his twenties, including using racial slurs during his first tour in Afghanistan. In recent years he has abandoned his tumultuous ways and has become an advocate for mental health and other causes. Markle is an advocate for U.N. Women and several other organizations and is known for her role in the television show ‘Suits’.
After they are married, Prince Harry will still have his informal title and Meghan will have the informal title of Princess Meghan. They will be formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The couple will temporarily reside in Nottingham College, which is a part of Kensington Palace in London. Meghan Markle will become a British citizen and go through the normal naturalization process, along with being baptized at the Church of England, which will officially make her an Anglican.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are representative of today’s modern society. Their relationship is paving the way for a more progressive future for the royal family— one that is open-minded instead of strictly traditional. Either way, the world will get to live vicariously through Meghan as she achieves every little girl’s dream of becoming a princess and living happily ever after with her prince...
The End
Photo Credit: www.abcnews.go.com
The engagement of the Prince of Wales and Markle is unprecedented. Markle is the first American woman to marry into the royal family since Wallis Simpson in the early 20th century. The actress is also biracial— her mother is a black yoga instructor and her father is a white cinematographer— and is entering a royal family that is racially homogenous and has been for hundreds of years. She attended a Catholic school in Los Angeles and was raised Catholic. If Prince Harry had married her before the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013, he would have been disqualified from the line of succession to the throne, in which he is currently fifth (the royal family has had a rough history with Catholicism). Markle has also been divorced, which was not accepted by the Church of England until 2002. Lori Black says that the complexity and diversity involved with the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan shows that “the dynamic of the royal family is changing” and that “the future of the British monarchy is becoming more diverse and inclusive”.
The engagement marks a milestone in Prince Harry’s recovery from years of controversy. The Prince committed some questionable actions throughout his teens and his twenties, including using racial slurs during his first tour in Afghanistan. In recent years he has abandoned his tumultuous ways and has become an advocate for mental health and other causes. Markle is an advocate for U.N. Women and several other organizations and is known for her role in the television show ‘Suits’.
After they are married, Prince Harry will still have his informal title and Meghan will have the informal title of Princess Meghan. They will be formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The couple will temporarily reside in Nottingham College, which is a part of Kensington Palace in London. Meghan Markle will become a British citizen and go through the normal naturalization process, along with being baptized at the Church of England, which will officially make her an Anglican.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are representative of today’s modern society. Their relationship is paving the way for a more progressive future for the royal family— one that is open-minded instead of strictly traditional. Either way, the world will get to live vicariously through Meghan as she achieves every little girl’s dream of becoming a princess and living happily ever after with her prince...
The End
Photo Credit: www.abcnews.go.com