With initial rumours confirmed to be true, Prince Harry is currently dating American actress Meghan Markle, better known as Rachel Zane from US legal drama, Suits. The show which is filmed in Toronto is where the couple met over the summer at an event for the Invictus Games which the Prince is a part of. The initial meeting took place while she was still another’s girlfriend, however within weeks of her split, she was in touch with Prince Harry.
So what do we know about Ms Markle? For starters, she at 35 is older than Prince Harry, 32. She is a mixed race divorcee raised in California by an African-American mother and a father of Irish-Dutch descent. She went to Northeastern university studying theatre and international studies and landed her first job as a calligrapher, wiring invitations. She is also a humanitarian campaigner, speaking at the UN as a women’s advocate while being a global ambassador for World Vision charity.
Of course, English royalty is no stranger to American divorcees. In 1936, UK was plunged into a constitutional crisis when Edward VIII, the Queen’s uncle, abdicated after falling in love with American socialite Wallis Simpson with the intention of marrying her. While it is still ‘early days’, the confirmation of the six-month relationship has inevitably led to speculation about the forthcoming royal wedding. In any case, Prince Harry would have to seek the blessings of his grandmother, The Queen before the wedding bells ring. For the Queen, events of her uncle and divorces among the royal household will inevitably bear heavily on her decision. However, it remains to be seen if we might see the first interracial marriage in the royal household.
As we went to print, reports emerged of Prince Harry attacking the press in its coverage of the story, especially the “racial undertones”. In an extraordinary statement, he warns that he fears for her safety. The prince believes, that with an increasing influence of social media and the fact that every girl he is linked up with is regarded as a potential bride are factors of driving women away from him.
The Prince’s spokesman gave a statement saying “A line has been crossed. Some of this has been very public. The smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.”
The statement confirms for the first time that the pair are a couple but launches a powerful and unprecedented attack on the media by the prince.
