"Royal Family Ties - Meghan Markle . . . "
We each have our little darkened corners of nerdity - and The British Royal Family is certainly one of mine. Aside from the obvious architecture, fashion, and pageantry - the movement and status of each of the royal titles I find especially fascinating. I thought I'd put together a bit of minutia (and some facts!) - to keep you entertained and well-informed on the comings-and-goings at the palace in London.
Let's start with the newest member of 'the firm' - Meghan Markle. As I'm sure many of you know, her engagement to Prince Harry was announced just before the holidays (date set for May 19th!) and she made her first 'family' appearance at church services on Christmas Day. Let's see what the future holds for Meghan . . .
Contrary to popular belief (and the overwhelming narrative influence of Walt Disney), Meghan will not be a Princess. Wives take on the feminine version of their husband's title - but, "Prince" is not Harry's title - it's his name. Most commonly, HM (Her Majesty) will bestow a title on their wedding day - much like she did when Prince William became Duke of Cambridge (and Catherine became Duchess of Cambridge) on their wedding day. The good money is on "Sussex." Thus Harry and Meghan would become The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (Now for some proper minutia, Meghan CAN be properly titled "Princess Harry of Wales," but that's a kinda obscure use of the title. The only other member of the family I can think of is "Princess Michael of Kent.")
Like most of the wives of the members of the royal family, one of her principal duties is to support the work of her husband and the family. I'll be interested to see if the charitable connections that she already works with will become causes that will be supported by the royal family. It certainly seems from the interviews that they have done - their charitable work was one of the early things that they shared in common . . . so, it could be quite interesting to see how this works out.
3) She can't marry him because . . .
There has been a firestorm of negativity since the engagement was announced with various random folks declaring that for this or that reason, they can't be married. In a word, nonsense. Though her previous divorce was I'm sure an obstacle, it certainly does not prevent their wedding. People have been endlessly siting The Duke of Windsor's abdication as proof - luckily, The Church of England and modern society's views have clearly moved forward in the 80 years since those events took place. And honestly, if the Queen approves of her . . . that's all I need to know. Though it is unusual for an American to marry into a family - it's certainly not the first time it's happened. Grace Kelly. Queen Noor of Jordan.
In closing . . . some thoughts. I, like I assume all of you, have never met these people. So I, like you, base my opinion on what I'm offered by the royal family and the media. But, I really like her. She's certainly well-spoken, well educated, and seems to be head-over-heels in love with Prince Harry. The fact that she was invited to Sandringham for Christmas (even though they are not yet married - a HUGE break with tradition) clearly shows that the family are excited about having her in 'the firm.'
Check back in from time to time . . . we need the work through some issues with Catherine's name. And at some point, we'll need to discuss Charles (the next King).
Until then -
Cheerio -
Scot
(and yes, I know I left a few things out - but, I didn't want to overwhelm everyone a 4000 word essay this first time out! Hang in there - we have LOTS more to talk about!)
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Scot