Meghan Markle and Grace Kelly are both American actresses marrying into European Royalty – facing customs, protocol, and a lifestyle very different from anything they have known before. Fairytales for centuries have made it a fantasy to marry a Prince… for Megan and Grace this is a dream come true!
Meghan Markle and Grace Kelly are modern women in their own times with a style of their own, yet marrying royalty requires many adjustments that one cannot even imagine. Such was the circumstance for Grace in the years after marrying her Prince as evidenced in “My Days with Princess Grace of Monaco” written by Joan Dale, one of her closest friends in Monaco in those early years. Despite all the tabloid gossip and negative rumors, what was Princess Grace’s marriage really like with Prince Rainier? …will Meghan Markle have a similar path? How was Grace Kelly’s daily life as Princess of Monaco in the early years, and what was she like as a wife, mother and friend? …will Meghan Markle share similar values as an American royal?
Is there a Princess Meghan
The major difference between Princess Grace and “Princess Meghan” is that actually Meghan will not hold a title of Princess – instead she is officially a Duchess.
Despite all the royal fanfare, a Princess will not be created by the May 19, 2018 wedding of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry (son of Princess Diana and presently 6th in line to the British throne). The rules are strict: in the House of Windsor, “princesses” are born, not made — not even by marriage. Not even members of the Royal Family can put the title “prince” or “princess” in front of their names unless they are born royal. So technically, there can be no “Princess Meghan,” just as there was no “Princess Diana.” – or was there?!?
Diana was never actually given the formal title of Princess – her official title upon marrying Prince Charles Of Wales on July 29, 1981 was actually Her Royal Highness The Princess Of Wales. She was also known as Diana, Princess Of Wales. And while Diana – who was formerly known as Lady Diana Frances Spencer – may have had “Princess” within her full name, it was never her title, which would require Princess coming first, followed by her first name. In fact, Diana herself admitted that her public-given title of Princess Diana was not formally correct.
This was not the case in the house of Grimaldi in Monaco. On April 19, 1956, Grace Kelly truly became Princess Grace of Monaco, and taking on a host of other titles from her husband, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who was one of the most titled men in the world at that time.
So Now What’s Ahead for Meghan Markle?
As a royal, many decisions are no longer your own anymore… there is protocol to follow. Life can get complicated – even for the seemingly simplest of actions. But love can be the greatest force that transcends any obstacles in this truly modern marriage, where traditional conservative ideals against marrying a ‘commoner’, ‘previously married’, ‘African-American lineage’, ‘actress’, have already been overcome.
Princess Diana and Princess Grace are timeless women, who will forever live in our memories. Ultimately time will dictate the true legacy of Meghan Markle – America has proclaimed her as Princess Meghan, but she has already been welcomed into the hearts of those in the UK simply as “Meghan”…
