In May 2018, Meghan Markle will become the newest member of the British royal family when she marries Prince Harry. The two are expected to take on the title of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. While there is a super small chance that Harry and Meghan would ever be the ruler of the throne, the world is still obsessed with the two of them. Everyone was very surprised when it was revealed the two were dating. She is the first American to marry into the British royal family in almost a century. There are a plethora of reasons as to why she is a bit of an anomaly as a choice for a British royal which we will get into here. By the end though, you will see that Meghan Markle is the full package, of beauty, brains, and talent.
Meghan is obviously very gorgeous, but there are so many things that make her impressive and interesting. She is educated, she has had a successful career on her own, she is worldly, and she is a humanitarian. And she did all of this not because she was groomed into becoming a royal, she was doing all this before Prince Harry was even a twinkle in her eye. In contrast, Princess Kate has been groomed to marry Prince William for a very long time and it is difficult to discern who she truly is. Meghan already made her individual mark on the world, and she truly seems unstoppable now. Read on to find fun facts the average person may not know about the future Duchess.
21 Meghan Is Not Her First Name, It's Her Middle Name
It is not surprising to hear that an actor's real name is different from the name that they are generally going by. This is a very common practise in the industry, most actors prefer to go by a stage name. Now that Meghan has been removed from acting for awhile and the spotlight on her has been more so about her relationship with Prince Harry, people may not realize that Meghan is not actually her first name, it is her middle name. Meghan was born Rachel Meghan Markle and when she began acting started to just go by her middle name. We wonder if Prince Harry calls her by her first name or Meghan? When she marries Prince Harry in May 2018, she will be given the title of Duchess of Sussex.
20 She Used To Be A Model On Deal Or No Deal
A decade before she would end up getting engaged to Prince Harry and become the first American in almost a century that has married into the British Royal Family, Meghan Markle became a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal. She was on the show between 2006-2007, so not a very long time. She spoke to UsWeekly about her experience, stating, "I would put that in the category of things I was doing while I was auditioning to try to make ends meet. I went from working in the U.S. Embassy in Argentina to ending up on Deal,” She was one of 26 models who had to stand and hold a briefcase for the duration of the show. Meghan has opened up about the fact that she never got to hold the winning briefcase, but to be fair she was not there for a very long time! It is impressive she has gone from a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal to living on the grounds of Kensington Palace with a Prince.
19 She Is Very Talented At Calligraphy
Being a show model on Deal Or No Deal is not the only way that Meghan made ends meet when money was tight! She is very talented when it comes to calligraphy, which is a fancy term for very beautiful and proper handwriting, and it takes skill to be good at it! Calligraphists are hired for their beautiful writing skills, it is like an artistic take on writing. This meant that Meghan was hired to write wedding invitations and things of that nature. Honey Nine reported that she really enjoys the written word and wishes that letter writing would not die out completely. If you thought Meghan Markle was just another pretty actress from L.A., you have probably realized now she is a lot more! She is talented and smart!
18 She Loves To Receive Letters
One of Meghan's favorite romantic gestures is a written letter, and who can blame her? She obviously has a love for the written word, and there is something so much more real about a love letter than a love text message. Or E-mail. We wonder if Prince Harry won her over so quickly by writing her letters, it's clearly the way to her heart! And in this day and age where people literally never write anything anymore, it is all done by typing this adds an extra dimension to Meghan. It shows that she has depth and is an old soul. A winning combination! We feel like letter writing is something the Queen would be into as well, so the ladies can probably bond over this.
17 Do NOT Lighten Up Her Skintone In Photos
Meghan Markle is bi-racial and she is not here for either of her heritage to be diminished. Growing up bi-racial is a challenge, something that Megan has been very open about. She has struggled feeling like she belonged to both the white community and her black one. Regardless of this, she has embraced being bi-racial and every aspect of that. She has natural freckles that she never wants to be photoshopped out, and she definitely is not here for her skin tone being lightened or darkened. She is both black and white, and this means embracing the physical characteristics she has gotten from both sides. For Megan, it's her freckles and skin tone. In a People interview, she said 'To this day, my pet peeve is when my skin tone is changed and my freckles airbrushed out.'
16 As A Child, She Spent A Lot Of Time On The Married With Children Set Where She Caught The Acting Bug
Meghan was born in Los Angeles to Thomas Markle, an Emmy-award winning director and Doria Ragland who was working as a social worker and yoga instructor. Both of her parents' professions shaped Megan into the amazing woman that she is today. While she was young, she would visit her Dad on the set of the iconic sitcom Married With Children and credits this experience with choosing to get into acting. From her Mother, she got an awareness of social issues which propelled her to become the humanitarian she is. Even though she will be leaving her acting career behind to become a member of the British royal family, she will definitely be able to continue her humanitarian work as royal. She also has been super into Yoga since she has been a child, probably one of the big reasons she has an amazing body!
15 Some Of Her Favorite Things Include Peonies And Red Wine
Meghan has an appreciation for the finer thing in life, and this includes a jet-set lifestyle, fresh flowers, and a beautiful glass of red wine. We are sure that her classy tastes will help her fit right in with the rest of the royal family. Her favorite red wine? The Tignanello which she credits with helping her fall in love with wine and everything about wine culture. One of her other favorite things in life is a fresh bouquet of flowers, something we are sure she has gotten a lot of from Prince Harry. Her favorite flower may surprise, it isn't roses like you may assume. She loves peonies! A sweet, down-to-earth choice for the future royal. We are sure her days will be filled with red wine and peonies once she becomes a royal.
14 Prince Harry Will Be Her Second Husband
Meghan was an interesting choice for Prince Harry to make when choosing his royal spouse. She is older than him, she isn't British, she's bi-racial, and she is a Hollywood actress. We have to assume when the Queen found out that they were seeing each other it was something of a pill to swallow. Or maybe she always expected this from her somewhat wayward grandson. Meghan's first marriage was to Trevor Engleson. The actress met the actor and producer in 2004 and the two began to date, finally getting married in 2011. The marriage did not last as long as they dated, and they divorced by 2013. That divorce is the best thing that ever happened to Megan! It opened her up for Prince Harry to swoop in and whisk her off her feet.
13 You Can Bet Serena Williams Will Be At Her Royal Wedding, Meghan And Serena Are Good Friends
Meghan and tennis star Serena Williams met in 2014 at a celebrity function and they hit it off right away. Meghan was still writing her lifestyle blog at the time, and shortly after meeting Serena, the two did a question and answer for her blog. Meghan wrote about Serena "We hit it off immediately, taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing in, and chatting not about tennis or acting, but about all the good old fashioned girly stuff." Meghan has even gone so far as to say that Serena Williams is her closest friend. But royal life has kept her busy, and she missed Serena Williams 2017 wedding. It assumed though that we will be seeing Serena and her husband at the royal wedding in May.
12 She Swears By Nivea Body Firming Lotion To Keep Her Skin Supple, No Super Expensive Creams For The Future Royal
Meghan is obviously a beautiful woman, and at 36-years-old she really does not look a day over 25. She is actually the same age as her future sister-in-law and Princess Kate. She is three years older than Prince Harry. And while three years is not a big age difference, the world is still not an equal one and when the woman is older in a relationship people look at it differently than when the guy is older than a girl. So Meghan has to keep up with certain standards, not only because she is going to be one of the most well-known people in the world but because she needs to stay looking young! And it is not some expensive cream the rest of us could never afford she relies on, according to Harper's Bazaar she loves Nivea! Megan, she is just like the rest of us!
11 She Was A Popular Lifestyle Blogger
Meghan is proving to be a jack of all trades! Not only is she a talented actress, but she wrote a popular lifestyle blog for a number of years called The Tig. She named it after her favorite red wine that we already mentioned, The Tignanello. The blog was for people who love the same things that Meghan does. Food, travel, fashion, and beauty. She has had to stop writing the blog as her engagements as a royal accelerate leading up to her royal wedding, a huge disappointment to fans we're sure. It would be so amazing for a royal to be able to keep a lifestyle blog, it would definitely be one of the most popular ones ever! Who knows, maybe Meghan will be the first royal to have a lifestyle blog.
10 She Loves To Cook, Her Favourite Dish To Make Is Roast Chicken
Meghan is a self-proclaimed foodie, and a big portion of her blog was dedicated to cooking. Her favorite dish to make is her roast chicken, which is what she was making the night that Prince Harry proposed to her! Apparently, the two enjoy their quiet evenings in, and one night while Meghan was making her beloved roast chicken, Prince Harry got on one knee and asked her to be his future bride. That roast chicken must be really good! It snagged her a royal fiancée. The couple is living on the grounds of Kensington Palace in a cottage, and we imagine that the cottage quite often has the smell of Meghan's delicious roast chicken wafting throughout it. It might even bring in visitors from Kensington Palace!
9 Ellen Degeneres Convinced Her To Adopt Her Dog
Meghan has told this story about when she was visiting an animal shelter because she wanted to take a look at the fur babies that need a home. While playing a pup, who should walk in but Ellen Degeneres and Portia Derossi! If you are familiar with Ellen, you know that she is a huge animal lover and a big advocate for them.
When she saw Meghan playing with the pup, Meghan says Ellen convinced her she had to adopt him. And she did! “Ellen goes ‘Is that your dog?’ And I said, ‘No,’ and she’s like, ‘You have to take that dog.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m deciding.’ And she’s like, ‘Rescue the dog!’” Markle said. “It’s sort of like if Oprah tells you to do something. 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.’ 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.” Who can blame her? You would do what Ellen told you to do as well!
8 Most People Don't Realize That Meghan Is Actually 3-Years-Older Than Prince Harry
And it may surprise you to find out that Princess Kate is also older than Prince William! The difference is much smaller than that between Meghan and Prince Harry, but it's there! Princess Kate is 36-years-old which is the same age as Meghan Markle. Prince William is 35-years-old, and he will be turning 36 on June 21, 2018. Prince Harry is 33-years-old and will be turning 35 in September 2018. Looks like those royal princes like their women slightly more mature than they are! And they both made fantastic picks in partners. Since both Meghan and Kate are older than both Prince Harry and Prince William, they should always be the ones in charge. That is fair right? The Prince's parents, Princess Diana and Prince Charles had a 13 year age difference that is said to have caused a lot of strife in their relationship.
7 Prince Harry And Meghan Got Set Up On A Date By A Mutual Friend, The Rest Is History!
If you have wondered how a girl ends up meeting a royal and then dating them, well look no further. It isn't that different from how you probably met your partner, and it definitely is not different from countless other 'normal' couples who have begun their relationship this way. Prince Harry and Meghan have mutual friends and said friends went ahead and set them up on a blind date. They apparently knew very little about each other before they went on the date, but they immediately hit it off. Prince Harry told People “And then it was I think about three, maybe four weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana. And we camped out with each other under the stars. She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic." Sounds like a true fairytale!
6 Prince Harry Designed Her Engagement Ring And Included Two Smaller Diamonds From His Mother's, Princess Diana's Collection
Prince Harry made a very special engagement ring for Meghan Markle. Prince Diana's infamous sapphire engagement ring went to his older brothers wife, Princess Kate. But that doesn't mean that Prince Harry was not able to put a touch of his Mother in his fiancee's ring. The ring has three diamonds. The middle one comes from Botswana, a country that is very near to Prince Harry as he has been going since he was a young child. The two smaller rings that encircle the big middle one belonged to his Mother and are from her personal collection. After her death, Prince Willian and Harry were allowed to take things from their Mother's jewelry collection. So Prince Harry has held onto these diamonds for a very long time in anticipation of the perfect woman!
5 Meghan Will Be The First American To Marry Into The British Royal Family Since 1937
Not only that, but she will also be the first bi-racial person to be in the British Royal family. And only the second American to marry into the British Royal family! Prince Harry has proven throughout the years that he walks to the beat of his own drum, and falling in love with an American older, bi-racial divorced woman is certainly out of the ordinary for a royal. And don't forget the part where she is not actually royalty! Royal rules dictate that Prince Harry had to get permission from the Queen before he could propose to Meghan. And even though Meghan is such an unorthodox choice for a royal spouse, the Queen approved her for marriage to her grandson. The couple will marry on May 19, 2018, at the same chapel that Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles.
4 She Has A Private School Education
Meghan grew up in Hollywood, California and she has been educated in private schools since the start of her formal education. Her first school was the Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse. She went to an all-girls private Catholic high school, Immaculate Heart High School, even though she was raised Protestant. Recently, she was baptized into the Church of England which is mandatory for anyone that wants to marry into the British royal family. You definitely cannot remain a Protestant if you wish to marry a potential future King of England! Or any member of the British royal family for that matter. And the reality of Prince Harry's chances of becoming King of England is very, very low. He has a brother and Father to get through first before he can get his chance at the throne!
3 She Is A Big Humanitarian - Something That Will Help Her Fit Right Into The Royal Family
After her engagement to Prince Harry was announced, Meghan announced that she would be retiring from acting but would continue working in a humanitarian capacity. This is obviously par for the course for the Royals. They do not work traditional jobs, obviously, but they are expected to be advocates for charity. This will be nothing new for Meghan, who thanks to her Mother has been exposed to social issues from a young age. She has been a huge advocate for female education around the world and this includes her capacity as a Global Ambassador for World Vision. Meghan told the Harper's Bazaar, What's been really exciting, as we talk about this transition out of my career....is that the causes that have been very important to me, I can focus even more energy on.'
2 Her Mother Is A Yoga Teacher And She Started Yoga At A Very Young Age Because Of This
Both of her parents' career choices influenced the path that Meghan has taken in life, and the impressive, intelligent woman she has become. From her Father she got her love of acting and passion to pursue a career in the field. From her Mother, who was a social worker and Yoga teacher she learned valuable things as well. She was aware of social issues and injustices from a very young age, her Mother as a social worker raised her daughter to be very socially conscious. Yoga is an extension of that, and has also giving Markle a very heathy outlet from a young age. Megan is lucky to have had such successful parents because they really steered her in the right direction. Megan Markle is one impressive lady, at this point what can't she do?
1 She Is Not Just A Pretty Face! She Has Worked In The U.S. Embassy In Buenos Aries
Meghan graduated from Northwestern University with a double major in Theatre and International Studies. And she has been able to use both degrees in her work life! As you already know she was a successful actress with her biggest role being on the popular show Suits. Before she got that role though, at the age of 20 she applied to work at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aries, Argentina. And she got the job! If you have not figured it out yet, Meghan is the full package. She is beautiful and smart, and not only that but she is clearly motivated and has done a lot in her life. The only thing she had left to do on her bucket list was marrying into a royal family! And in May 2018 she can cross that off her bucket list!
REFERENCES: thesun.co.uk
