Meghan: A Hollywood Princess(64)
Prime Minister Theresa May commented that the engagement marked a “time of huge celebration and excitement,” while Barack and Michelle Obama “wished them a lifetime of joy and happiness together.” The king of Twitter, President Trump, remained silent about the first American since 1937 to marry into the royal family. Meghan’s parents said they were “incredibly happy” for their daughter, while her TV father, actor Wendell Pierce, gave Harry his blessing.
As for her screen lover, Patrick J. Adams, he joked on Twitter: “She said she was just going out to get some milk.” He later added his genuine thoughts: “Your Royal Highness, you are a lucky man and I know your long life together will be joyful, productive and hilarious.” There was one victim in a day of smiles and laughter. While she had been able to bring Guy, her beagle, to London to live with her, her second dog, Bogart, a labrador-shepherd mix, was deemed too old to travel. He had been sent off to spend his final days with Meghan’s friends.
There were other forfeits, too. Following the public announcement, she resigned from her position as global ambassador for World Vision Canada and stepped back from her involvement with gender equality and women’s empowerment in organizations like United Nations Women and One Young World. Now that she was inside the wrought iron palace gates, she had to play by their rules.
Politics in particular is firmly out of bounds. Meghan has previously used her celebrity to back Hillary Clinton, lament Brexit, and attack Donald Trump as “misogynistic” and “divisive.” Such strident opinions will be muted by palace protocol that aims to prevent royals—not always successfully—from publicly expressing views on political figures, parties, and issues.
Her communications secretary, Jason Knauf, told around a hundred journalists who arrived for a briefing at Buckingham Palace that, after touring the country, her withdrawal from her existing humanitarian work would give her a “clean slate” to judge where to invest her time and talent. It will be a struggle and a test for a woman who has grown used to enjoying a public platform. As a friend of Meghan’s noted: “She is going to bring a lot of diversity and new ideas, new ways of doing things. She is not just going to blend into the royals.”
During their engagement interview, Prince Harry hinted at the future direction the royal couple may take, working with young children in Commonwealth countries where her mixed-race heritage will be a positive asset. In April the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, known as CHOGM, took place, giving Harry the chance to introduce his bride-to-be to some of the heads of state of the fifty-two countries in attendance in central London. It was a primer for Meghan’s future role inside the royal family—and her first taste of a state banquet at Buckingham Palace.
A royal insider said: “Prince Harry will definitely have a role to play, and now he is marrying Meghan Markle, CHOGM would provide the perfect opportunity for her to find out more about the Commonwealth.”
Amid the back-and-forth about her future royal career, there has also been talk of family matters, Harry saying in their engagement interview that the time for children would be “in the near future.”
Though Meghan upon marriage will be conferred with the appellation Her Royal Highness and become a duchess—the smart money is on Sussex—she is going to retain her American citizenship at least for the time being. This means she is still eligible to pay American taxes. In parallel, she is going to apply to become a British citizen, a process that can take up to three years. The application culminates in a quiz about British history and culture. Given her poor performance in that television quiz back in July 2016—where she was tested on cockney rhyming slang and the national animals of the British Isles—few thought she would do well.
She would not be the only one. After all, a YouGov survey showed that when the quiz was given to a group of Brits, half of those under the age of twenty-four flunked the exam. Some respondents thought that Hawaii was part of Britain and that National Insurance was used to pay for supermarket home deliveries. Other questions on the $65 test, such as what is Vindolanda (a Roman fort north of Hadrian’s Wall) and the Statute of Rhuddlan (the annexation of Wales to England), left even social historians baffled.
There were other life changes as well. As she and Harry were marrying in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle under the auspices of the Church of England, Meghan, whose father is Episcopalian and whose mother is Protestant, the faith she was born into, had to be baptized and confirmed before the May celebration, a procedure that is seen as an “important milestone of faith.” Her former religious studies teacher at Immaculate Heart, Maria Pollia, has no doubts that Meghan will “utterly astound and delight” clerics from the Church of England when she undertakes her studies in preparation for her induction into faith. “She will understand the liturgy and sacrament, not to mention demonstrating the depth of her theological appreciation.”
From the beginning, the couple was determined to have control over the wedding day itself. As their communications director, Jason Knauf, said:
“The couple of course want the day to be special, celebratory moment for their friends and family. They also want the day to be shaped so as to allow members of the public to feel part of the celebrations too and are currently working through ideas for how this might be achieved. This wedding, like all weddings, will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters of the bride and groom. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are leading the planning process for all aspects of the wedding.”