Entertainment
10 Changes Meghan Markle Had To Make To Marry Prince Harry
Growing up, we are bombarded with fairytale stories from Cinderella to Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. The storyline is the same, there is always an antagonist, the stepmother who doubles as an evil witch who tries to derail the adorable little girl, then the fairy godmother who gives her special powers and finally prince charming, who swoops in and saves the day. They get married and live happily ever after. Or do they? There is the story of Princess Diana, but that is for another day.
Every little girl knows these stories and wants to be a princess and every little boy wants to be a prince. As much as we all dream about it, most of us will never come close to meeting a prince, let alone marrying one. Then in comes actress Meghan Markle, an African American, 35-year-old divorcee who does what most of us dream of. She gets engaged to Prince Harry no less. Talk about luck.
No American has ever married into the royal family and even more, no descendant of a slave has ever become a royal, which Meghan Markle will be, having descended from a family of slaves from Georgia. Who knew that the Royal family would become so liberal that they would allow Prince Harry to marry a divorcee. Though his father, Prince Charles, had set the precedence by marrying divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles, the Royal family had raised a lot of boohoos back then. It, therefore, came as a shock to some and a pleasant surprise to others when the Royal family seemed to accept Meghan even with her not so spotless past.
They say marriage is a compromise, where both meet in the middle, you lose some, I lose some and we both gain some. This is not the case when you are a commoner and about to marry a prince and become a princess. In this case, you lose most, but hey, you become a real-life princess so it’s worth it. Compared to Kate Middleton, Prince Williams wife, Meghan requires a lot of polishing to fit into her role as a princess and to do this she was required to make a few changes before she could become Prince Harry’s fiance. So what are these changes Meghan Markle made to become Prince Harry’s fiancé, keep reading and find out.
10. She Dropped Her Career
Meghan has graced our screens with unforgettable roles in Horrible Bosses, When Sparks Fly and The Dater’s Handbook. She has also appeared in television series like Castle, Without a Trace and who could forget her role as Rachel Zane in the popular series Suits? This young lady had such a promising career and her characters have always been so adorable.
In order to become a royal though, Meghan had to give up her promising acting career. It seems the women in the royal family are not allowed to hold public jobs and acting is as public as it can get. Seems like a fair trade for being a princess. Don’t get me wrong, it is not all parties and cups of tea as a princess, they do work, but their work is more for social good than monetary gain.
Those dollars she used to get as an actor are now a thing of the past, as her work will now involve social engagements and meetings. Even though they are 5th in line to the throne, which means unless a plague comes they really will never ascend to the throne. They are expected to hold their own and help the country in its diplomatic engagements and with Prince Phillip planning to retire, their work load has just increased.
9. She Moved Out of Her Rented House
Independent women love their freedom and a woman’s apartment is her pride and joy, but when one is about to become a royal princess, rental houses in villages are a no-no. Princesses belong in castles and palaces. It has been the norm throughout history with fairy tales and even with the royal family.
While filming episodes of Suits in Toronto, Meghan lived in Seaton Village in a rental house. While this is classy enough for us ordinary people, and it was for her before her status changed, she had to give up the house in order to marry Harry since a princess or princess-to-be cannot be alone. Part of the ‘how to be a princess guide’ says that the Royals should always be accompanied by someone. This is both to protect their honor as well as their security. She is required to always be guarded, so bye-bye lonely drives and dinners alone.
A princess-to-be translates into money and where the money is, potential kidnappers are a plenty. And what spells easy target more than a lady living alone in a house in some village. Seems the Royals want to take no chances and she was required to move out as soon as the 7th season of Suits wrapped up. Even with the loss of freedom, this is a small price to pay for the privilege of being a princess.
8. She Changed Her Political Views
This couple is truly in love as they dated for over six months before people started nitpicking at the relationship. While most of Harry’s previous girlfriends have balked at the media onslaught that is often directed at them, Meghan seems to be made of tougher stuff, probably because she has always been in the limelight or because she also enjoys Harry’s protection as he has told them to keep off. This love is what pushed her to say yes to Prince Harry and one of the things she had to compromise on to keep this happiness was her political views. Meghan has been known to be quite vocal in her support of human rights and she doesn’t hold back, especially on her tweets. Being in the limelight, she has made no secret about her political views, but this seems to be a thing of the past.
To marry Harry, Meghan had to delete all her social media accounts. She can no longer contribute to any debate, however oppressing the issue may be. Another downside to being a royal is that she will have to give up her right to vote, as the royal family is not allowed to vote. For an African American woman, the right to vote is her pride and joy. That right was attained with lots of blood and tears and giving it up for the sake of love means that she is truly in love. This love has led to her loss of political freedom.
7. She Changed Her Religion
Meghan believes in marriage and the adage ‘your people shall be my people.’ Before she would be allowed to marry Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, who has never personally been a member of any church, but rather is a member of the Episcopal Church by default. Her father, Thomas Markle, identifies with the church. Meghan, who is extremely tolerant of any religion Christian or Muslim was confirmed and baptized into the Church of England by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who is also set to marry them in May.
Religion in England is serious business and the British have fought hard and passionately to hold on to their religious sovereignty. It is for this reason that anyone who aspires to be a royal must first of all be baptized and confirmed. Kate Middleton also had to be confirmed before she could marry Prince William. For most liberals, this would be a big insult to them, but for the privilege of being a royal princess, setting aside your principals should be a no-brainer. The 45-minute ceremony to confirm her signaled her commitment to her betrothed, Prince Harry and the Royal family’s acceptance of her as Prince Harry’s future wife and England’s Princess.
6. She Has the Intent to Change Her Citizenship
Even though Meghan will marry the Prince, she will not automatically become a British citizen by marriage. In order to marry Harry though, she had to show intent to become a British citizen. At the moment, she is in Britain on a family visa that is only valid for two and a half years. British immigration laws say that when a foreigner enters the country with the intent to marry a British citizen, they have to marry within six months of entry. A representative of the royal family has said that Meghan will follow all the immigration rules in order to become a citizen, which means that in two and a half years, she will have to renew her visa in order to show intent to stay. One can only become a citizen after five years of continuous stay in Britain.
Meghan, it seems, has a long way to go before she can be called a British citizen but at least she will be a royal. She does not, however, plan to renounce her American citizenship, rather she plans to hold dual citizenship, which means she will be a British/American Princess with both the privileges of the royal family and her familial ties in America.
5. She Changed Her Dress Code
Meghan is known for those see-through dresses and clingy blouses, as well as her signature, ripped jeans. Well, this style of hers had to change before she could say yes. The Royals have a strict dress code that has to be followed by anyone in the Royal family. The women always have to look regal and well kept. The first rule, no dresses above the knee. Of course she was also expected to ditch the ripped jeans and short shorts.
She seems to have no problem with this rule as she has adapted quite well and her new look reflects that. She has often been spotted wearing Burberry. It seems she has started to favor the British designers, probably because they seem to have a sense of what she and should not be wearing as a princess-to-be. Meghan will also have to start wearing leggings as is normally seen with Kate. The queen favors leggings and anything she likes goes. She is also reportedly not a fan of wedge shoes, so if Meghan wants comfort, it will not be achieved anywhere near the queen. Sounds like hard work, but like we said, it’s the price you pay to be a princess.
4. No Selfies
In today’s world, its all about selfies and Instagram. Popularized by all the celebrities, notably the Kardashians, not a minute goes by before one of them posts a selfie doing the most mundane things. This form of expression is fun and quite informative. It is therefore sad that Meghan Markle, who has proven that fairy tales and dreams really do come true, is forbidden from enjoying and giving us this minor pleasure. When a fan requested a selfie. She is quoted as saying “We’re not allowed to do selfies.”
The Royals have a lot of rules and yes they are royalty but this one rule is a bummer. The reason for it though does make sense. Seeing as selfies require a certain amount of closeness, this can get dangerous and they are Royals after all, which translates to personal enemies and inherited ones. Keeping one’s distance does maintain that aura of dignity and respect that they deserve.
The rule on selfies is also intended to ensure they do not open a Pandora’s box where every event they attend may result in flocks of people around them expecting a selfie. Once you have said yes to one person, saying no to the other is just rude. With this rule in place, the Royals can serve the people without all the sideshows. The only time this rule can be broken is with sick children or for a worthy cause.
3. No Autographs
A year or two ago, Meghan Markle’s signature was not worth much. To get a selfie with her or an autograph required you to go by the set of Suits and you would go home with one or traipse by Seaton Village and she would have probably invited you for dinner. Right now, her autograph is priceless and very rare. If you need one, sorry you can’t get it because she isn’t allowed to give them anymore. Ouch.
Much like the selfies, Meghan Markle is not allowed to give autographs. Being a celebrity and an actress, this one is hard since autographs are synonymous with actors. Members of the Royal family though are not allowed to give autographs and for Meghan to become a princess, she will have to adhere to this rule. Not that autographs are beneath them or illegal, it is just that the signature of a royal can attract forgers and this would be disastrous. Her signature from now henceforth will be used to sign official documents and it will be closely guarded to ensure that no specimens are floating around out there.
2. She Gave Up the Tig
Meghan was a blogger with a blogging site called the Tig, which is derived from the Tignanello wine company. She states that this is a “hub for the discerning palate—those with a hunger for food, travel, fashion & beauty,” it does give some good pointers on this front we have to admit.
When she started dating Harry though, her musings got a little bit mellow and her character seemed to change. She got more philosophical and it seemed her whole outlook on life got a lot more complicated. This should have been an indicator that the Suits actress was making major changes, but the truth is no one ever expected her to get admission into the Royal family. We were all proven wrong though as true love won and as she was expected to go into a social media blackout as a Royal. So Meghan shutdown the Tig for good. She will be missed.
1. She Can’t Play Monopoly
This one made our heads spin in amusement. To become a princess, she is not allowed to play Monopoly ever again. I mean, we all love board games. Every family has one or two board games and while most families appreciate the competitiveness it elicits, not to mention the time spent together, the Royals are forbidden from playing this classic game because, like Prince Andrew admitted when he was gifted one, “it gets vicious.”
We do admit it gets vicious, but on the other hand it stimulates the brain allowing one to think fast. That competitiveness is not bad in families and after a spirited game of Monopoly, the family feels rejuvenated. Well, Meghan can no longer play this game, either can any children the couple has in the future. That’s business lost for the board company, but then again, a small price to pay.