Well, it’s official. Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle will get married in 2018.
The world’s media has gone into overdrive since the loved-up pair announced their engagement. Many Aussies loving all things royal but if we are being honest most of us have absolutely no idea who Megan Markle actually is. So, here’s a little explainer to bring you up to spead ahead of next year’s big day…
Megan Markle is a 36-year-old (three years older than Harry) American actress who grew up in Los Angeles. Markle is no small-time actor, she is most famous for her role as Rachel Zane on legal drama Suits.
Markle describes herself as a feminist and activist. She has spoken at United Nations events on gender issues and has travelled to African countries on various relief missions. She has also heavily criticised US president Donald Trump and spoken out about what it means to grow up as mixed race. Markle’s mother is black and her father is white.
“Being ‘ethnically ambiguous,’ as I was pegged in the industry, meant I could audition for virtually any role,” she wrote.
“Sadly, it didn’t matter: I wasn’t black enough for the black roles and I wasn’t white enough for the white ones, leaving me somewhere in the middle as the ethnic chameleon who couldn’t book a job.”
The US star has made it her mission to bring about change in the world. She knows that fame has helped her make a difference.
“With fame comes opportunity, “but it also includes responsibility — to advocate and share, to focus less on glass slippers and more on pushing through glass ceilings.”
Aside from being three years older than Harry, she has also been married before. Film producer Trevor Engelson was Markle’s husband for two years before they divorced in 2013.
Prince Harry and Markle were introduced just 16 months ago by mutual friends. Their relationship was secret for a while until Prince Harry made a public statement. The statement confirmed the relationship and slated the press for harassing her and even making racial remarks.
During a Vanity Fair interview in September this year, Markle spoke about the relationship for the first time. The pair were happily in love.
“We’re two people who are really happy and in love.”
“I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us.”
The wedding has been confirmed to take place in “spring 2018” (UK seasons). Royal experts say that this could see the wedding taking place as early as March next year, before Kate and Prince William welcome their next child. Once that baby arrives, Harry will be only sixth in line to the throne.
The UK will get a bank holiday on the day of the wedding; so even if you are the most royal-sceptic expat working in Britain, it makes the whole enterprise worthwhile, right?
TOP IMAGE: Twitter/ Kensington Palace