What a wedding it was! Wow! Prince Harry never acted the Royal part as expected, and Meghan Markle is an American! Who came from Hollywood.
So this wedding drew attention worldwide when it happened on May 19th, 2018. Meghan will now have some royal rules to obey, but wait, do you know who Meghan really is?
What do you know about her? Start this article, and find out all you need to know.
So, you can imagine when news broke of their royal engagement- people went wild. We have watched Meghan hold herself with poise and elegance as she enters circles of royalty, but let’s look back and discover everything that led to this talented actress/ philanthropist becoming the confident and charming woman she is today!
She has Been an Activist since Age 11
One of the reasons the world has fallen head over hills for the nearly-royal, is her dedication to activism, including being an outspoken advocate for women. But who knew that her passion for equality and action started off when she was so incredibly young!
According to the Telegraph, at age 11 a little Meghan wrote to the then First Lady, Hilary Clinton, to complain about an advertisement for soap which suggested that a women’s place was in the kitchen. Her actions paid off and the manufacturer altered the advert- now that is girl power!
Her father is an award-winning TV lighting director
Both Markle’s parents have had big influences on her in different ways, despite getting divorced when she was only 6 years old.
Meghan’s father, Thomas Wayne Markle is a former TV lighting director and introduced his daughter to the world of film has worked on shows such as Married… with Children and General Hospital.
Meghan remembers how she used to visit the set after school and wait for him to wrap up- no wonder she got the acting bug! He is since retired and lives in Mexico. Although him and Meghan have not always been on best of terms, he has publicly announced how happy he is with his daughter engagement to Prince Harry.
Her mother is the biggest influence in her life
Meghan is extremely close to her mother, Doria Ragland, a yoga instructor and Eastern Medicine enthusiast. The actress speaks of her mother who used to take her to visit slums in Jamaica and Mexico when she was just 10, in an effort to make her daughter a caring and global citizen- it worked!!
Doria, who is African American, seems to be a favorite of Prince Harry, with the two-spending time together with Meghan and looking at ease and happy.
She worked as a professional calligrapher
A woman of many secret talents, the future princess is not only an incredible actress but quite the calligrapher too! “I used to be a calligrapher for weddings and events -- that was my side job while I was auditioning,” she told Good Housekeeping, adding, "I think handwritten notes are a lost art form.”
She explains that this unexpected talent comes from going to an all-girls Catholic school, where handwriting classes were considered the last art. Apparently, Markle’s fancy penmanship has even made it to the ranks of a famous wedding- she penned the invitation to the wedding of Robin Thicke and Paula Patton back in 2005, who knew!
Her Biracial identity was something she once struggled with
The future princess had to work hard to make it as an actress. She attributes a lot of the difficulties to her ethnic ambiguity and biracial identity. ‘I wasn’t black enough for the black roles and I wasn’t white enough for the white ones’, she claimed.
However, Markle has come to embrace her self-identity, claiming "While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that," she explains. "To say who I am, to share where I'm from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman."
She used to be a ‘Briefcase girl’ on ‘Deal or no Deal’
Her journey to becoming a full-fledged star on ‘Suits’ was not an easy one. Back in 2006, while struggling tog et her acting career on board, Markle worked on the Howie Mandel-hosted TV game show. But the actress’s memories of that time are not the fondest.
"I would put that in the category of things I was doing while I was auditioning to try to make ends meet," she told Esquire in 2013. "I would end up standing up there forever in these terribly uncomfortable and inexpensive 5-inch heels just waiting for someone to pick my number, so I could go and sit down.”
Meghan’s chemistry with Patrick J. Adams is what scored her a role in ‘Suits’
Markle’s big break came when she got cast as the beautiful, intelligent paralegal, Rachel Zane. Markle was up against Kim Shaw for the role, but the president of USA Network, Jeff Wachtel stated that thanks to Markle’s undeniable chemistry with her love-interest on-screen, she ultimately landed the role.
Wachtel is not short of praise when he comes to Markle’s acting abilities: when it came to Patrick's character, Mike Ross, he stated "We needed somebody who had a real authority to shut him down and still be the coolest thing around. And they had it right away. It was a lot of fun." The role got her notices globally as Suits became one of the most popular shows around, and everyone who was anyone developed a crush on the smart, confident, and gorgeous ‘Rachel Zane’, including Prince Harry!
Ellen DeGeneres convinced her to adopt her first dog
Before Markle and Prince Harry decided to expand their human family and announce their engagement, Markle was already increasing her own family by adopting two furry friends! Believe it or not, it was non-other than the most beloved TV host, Ellen DeGeneres who convinced her to adopt her first pup.
Markle remembers how she was in the dog shelter holding a Labrador when Ellen walked in with her wife Portia.
“I’m sitting there holding him and she’s like, ‘Have you thought of a name for him yet?’ And I said, ‘Well, I think I’d name him Bogart,’ and she’s like, ‘You’re taking the dog home,'” Markle recalls, “And she walks outside to get into her car but instead of getting in she turns around and comes and taps on the window glass and she yells, ‘Take the dog!’ And so, I brought him home. Because Ellen told me to.’”
I mean if Ellen told me to adopt a dog, I wouldn’t say no either!
Meghan was married once before
This will not be the Suits star’s first walk down the aisle. Back in 2011, Markle tied the knot with film producer Trevor Engelson after meeting him seven years earlier. The two had a four-day long wedding extravaganza in Jamaica.
However, the pair divorced not long after, in 2013, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. Close friends of the then-couple blame long distance and work schedules for what caused their marriage to fall apart.
Prince Harry met Meghan on a blind date
Markle knew very little about Harry or the royal family when they were first set up by a mutual friend. Clearly, this friend knew what he/she was doing, they had immediate chemistry and followed that first date with another two shortly after in London.
From there, things only escalated when 4 weeks later, Prince Harry convinced Meghan to join him in Botswana. He explains how they camped under the stars and had one on one-time which was crucial to building the foundation to their relationship.
Markle has broken nearly every rule for royal girlfriends when dating Prince Harry
Although things may change since their engagement, while these two were dating, Markle and Harry did not play by the royal handbook.
From public displays of affection, something that the Queen has set a precedent against, to staying active on social media, to crossing her legs in public, to being very open about their relationship.
Markle managed to stay true to herself regardless of the royal pressure while dating the Prince.
She has given up her acting career since the royal engagement
To many people’s disappointment, Markle has confirmed that she is giving up her acting career following her engagement to Prince Harry to focus on important causes and her new role as wife.
Prince Harry admitted that the couple had some serious discussions while dating discussing what the development of their relationship would mean for her professional and personal life, since joining the royal family comes with a high level of responsibility.
Markle has claimed that she thoroughly enjoyed her 7-year long career on Suits, and is glad for the longevity of her show before this new chapter.
She has become a style icon
The duchess-to-be always looked gorgeous and stylish, both on and off screen, however recently Markle’s style has reached fashion royalty status.
Meghan’s engagement outfit has already sparked shopping sprees around the world with people trying to copy her look, but her love for fashion is not a new thing.
Meghan used to run a lifestyle website which included fashion, beauty and travel material. She considers it her passion project.
She prides herself on being a humanitarian and philanthropist
Markle was always taught to be aware of the world around her and those less fortunate. From the time she was a young girl and her mother took her traveling to remote places to witness the poverty, to becoming a Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada which saw her traveling to Rwanda for the Clean Water campaign.
Clearly, humanitarian work is her true passion, she stated regarding her various projects:
"I’ve always wanted to be a woman who works, and this type of work is what feeds my soul, and fuels my purpose. The degree to which I can do that both on and off camera is a direct perk of my job.” We couldn’t ask for a better woman to become part of the royal family.
New Details about the wedding!
