Divorced actress and rebel: the story of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s romance

He is a British prince, she is an actress from the USA, the star of a TV series. Before they met, their lives were very different. Harry has a difficult childhood at court, the tragic loss of his mother, military service in Afghanistan.

Born into an interracial family (her mother is African-American), Megan began her career under the influence of her father, a cameraman, lived for two years with director Trevor Engelson and became a popular role in the TV series Suits. Harry also had a serious relationship, but all potential brides ran away from the prince. TV presenter Natalie Pinkham, childhood sweetheart Chelsea Davey, journalist Caroline Flack, singer Molly King, models Florence Brandell-Bruce and Cressida Bonet… Even actress Emma Watson did not accept courtship with the heir. The girls were terrified at the prospect of becoming a princess and living by the rules of royal protocol.

Harry, 31, met Meghan Markle, 34, at a friendly party in June 2016 and just a week after they met, he invited the actress to go with him to Botswana, where the prince was holding charity events. Harry quickly decided his intentions, but proposing wasn’t a problem. But getting the blessing of the grandmother – the reigning Queen of Great Britain – is much more difficult.

Elizabeth II. of course she did not approve of her grandson’s choice. A common citizen from another country, divorced, Catholic and older than the groom – unthinkable! The issue of engagement has been in limbo for a long time because the Queen’s word is law. But Megan was not one of the weak. If the prince’s previous girlfriends gave up under the onslaught of journalists and the gaze of the Queen, then Miss Markle began the fight for happiness. Harry and Meghan turned a blind eye to the Queen’s ban and continued to make public appearances together. Farewell was out of the question.

Megan is a mestizo. Her mother is African American and her father is of Dutch and Irish descent. Prince Harry commissioned genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts to research Meghan’s paternal ancestry. Roberts went back to the 17th generation in Meghan’s father’s family tree and discovered that the actress and the prince are very, very distantly related to each other, and Meghan’s father is a descendant of King Edward III of England.

Elizabeth II abdicated. In October 2017, Her Majesty invited the couple to the palace for tea and discussed the details of Markle’s possible adoption into the royal family. The Queen immediately made the girl understand that if she married her grandson, her career as an actress and Meghan’s usual social life would end. Becoming the wife of a prince means being constantly under the guns of the cameras, thinking through every step, living strictly according to the schedule and following strict and sometimes strange rules. Markle accepted all the terms, earning the Queen’s approval. The couple got permission to marry.

Elizabeth II agreed to the marriage and even attended the wedding, although she was expected to miss it. By the way, before the wedding, Megan was baptized and joined Anglicanism.

Almost immediately, Kensington Palace announced the engagement of the prince and the actress. But things could not go so smoothly. While the lovers spent time together and told reporters how happy they were, the ex-husband of the actress decided to moderate Megan’s happiness. When Trevor Engelson learned that the ex-wife not only felt great after the divorce, but also found not only someone, but a prince to replace the ex, Trevor Engelson decided that it just couldn’t be. But when he found out that the romance between Prince Harry and his ex-wife was true, he began to figure out how to put Meghan in her place. The director couldn’t think of anything better than to make a movie about the relationship with Megan and make fun of the fact that the girl left him for the prince. The scandal was quickly hushed up, so “the prank failed”.

Megan refused her ex-husband’s money, won the favor of the royal relatives and entourage, adequately responded to the attacks of the press.

Meghan’s royal response to gossip and criticism has earned her the respect of Harry’s brother, Crown Prince William, and his wife, Duchess Katherine. This was another victory for the lovers, as the older brother’s opinion always played a special role for Harry. And with Kate’s approval, Megan got the support of someone who had been through similar difficulties before. After all, Kate Middleton is also a simpleton who did not immediately come to court.

And then there was the wedding, the birth of the first child Archie and the scandalous departure of the young family first to Canada and then to the States. I wonder if the Queen regretted agreeing to this marriage?

Text: Taťána Veselová