Unless you were deep under the doona enjoying a Netflix binge for the past few days, you’ve probably heard by now that Prince Harry has proposed to his very accomplished girlfriend Meghan Markle.
Even Prince Harry himself still can’t quite believe it and has hinted he thinks he’s punching above his weight.
Over the weekend during their first official royal appearance as an engaged couple, a fellow red head in the crowd cheekily asked the 33-year-old: “How does it feel being a ginger with Meghan?”
To which quick-witted Harry hilariously responded: “It’s great isn’t it!? Unbelievable!”
Harry and Meghan were total naturals as they stepped out for their first royal appearance in Nottingham over the weekend.
Because while all the royal wedding headlines continue to focus on “divorcee” Meghan bagging herself a prince, let’s not forget that Meghan is a pretty incredible catch, too.
In fact Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who filed for divorce from Jorge Arantes in 1994, was so fed up with the “divorcee” label being bandied about in the aftermath of the engagement news, she hit back at one commentator who labelled the Suits star “unsuitable” to marry Harry.
Firing back at an opinion piece published by The Spectator, which unfairly claimed: “Meghan Markle is unsuitable as Prince Harry’s wife for the same reason that Wallis Simpson was unsuitable: she’s divorced and Harry’s grandmother is supreme governor of the CofE,” J.K. shutdown the story in one swift tweet…
The undertones were no better when the couple made their first public outing back in March after Harry brought Meghan along to his best friend Tom Inskip’s wedding in Jamaica’s Montego Bay.
There was one underlying fact that was incessantly pointed out in almost every news article covering the couples’ romantic weekend away – that Jamaica, shock horror, is the same destination where “divorcee” Meghan tied the knot to her ex-husband, producer Trevor Engelson back in 2011.
“Ironically divorcee Miss Markle married her former husband, producer Trevor Engleson, in Jamaica in 2011,” one outlet noted.
“Could Prince Harry ever marry divorcee Meghan Markle?” Another website bluntly questioned.
“The Caribbean holds bitter sweet memories for American Meghan who married her ex-husband, producer Trevor Engleson, in Jamaica in 2011,” harked another publication, seemingly being able to speak on Meghan’s behalf about how she feels towards the island.
When Meghan and Harry attended a wedding in Jamaica a few months ago, outlets went to town on the fact it was the same place where Meghan tied the knot in 2011. (Image/Mega)
But, as Meghan herself reveals, Jamaica isn’t just the place where she once got married.
She’s long visited the island, way before saying “I do.”
“My mother raised me to be a global citizen, with eyes open to sometimes harsh realities. I must have been about ten years old when we visited the slums of Jamaica,” the 35-year-old shared on her lifestyle blog, The Tig.
“I had never seen poverty at that level and it registered in my glazed brown eyes. ‘Don’t look scared, Flower,’ she said. ‘Be aware, but don’t be afraid,'” Meghan recalled.
WATCH: Meghan talks about graduating with a double degree. Post continues after the video…
Meghan and Trevor split in 2013.
While there are so many parallels here to Prince Harry’s own upbringing, whose mother Princess Diana shaped the humanitarian he has become today, it shows the UN advocate has long-standing ties to Jamaica.
However, her 2013 divorce is the apparent stain on her backstory that she just can’t escape.
But Meghan needn’t be too worried about her supposed “sordid” past.
In fact, she only has to look towards her husband-to-be and his relatives for some reassurance.
Three out of four of Queen Elizabeth’s children have divorced, with both Prince Charles and Princess Anne onto their second marriages, while Prince Andrew remains single and up until 2015, still lived with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, at their Royal Lodge in Windsor.
The youngest child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Prince Edward, is the only child of the couples who hasn’t divorced.
The 52-year-old, who is rumoured to be his father’s not-so-secret favourite child, has been happily married to Sophie, Countess of Wessex since 1999.
Of course, long before Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew’s splits, the monarchy was rocked with the greatest love scandal of them all.
King Edward famously ditched the throne in 1936 so he could marry twice-divorced American socialite and Nazi-sympathiser, Wallis Simpson.
In a grandiose statement, Edward confessed his heart had triumphed over his duty. “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”
King Edward famously abdicated the throne for twice-divorced American socialite and Nazi-sympathiser, Wallis Simpson.
The original royal of rebellion, Princess Margaret, was put through the wringer thanks to her choice in men. The Queen’s little sister fell for Group Captain Peter Townsend, who was in the middle of a marriage breakdown.
Since the Princess was under the age of 25, she needed her big sister’s consent to go through with the nuptials. Facing backlash from parliament, the Queen reportedly told Margaret, “Under the circumstances, it isn’t unreasonable for me to ask you to wait a year.”
Peter and Margaret waited for two years until she turned 25. Sadly, the British parliament decided that if the royal went through with the union, she’d be stripped of her title and all her privileges.
In 1955, she released a heartbreaking statement confirming she’d pulled the pin on the dreamy Group Captain.
“I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend,” she said.
Princess Margaret wasn’t allowed to marry her first love, Group Captain Peter Townsend. But she went on to wed Lord Snowdon, before succumbing to divorce.
“I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage. But, mindful of the Church’s teaching that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have decided to put these considerations before any others.”
She went on to marry photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960 before they divorced in 1978.
So, “divorcee” Meghan really has nothing to worry about in the slightest.
And that’s all before even reminding her to Google Squidgygate, Fergie’s toes, Prince Charles and that tampon comment, Prince Philip and The Queen’s cousin Princess Alexandra’s alleged dalliances, or Hazza’s questionable choice in Halloween costume.
Yep, it turns out Meghan’s new in-laws are just as dysfunctional as the next family! They’re going to have so much to discuss at the dinner table this Christmas.
Meghan is so much more than a “divorcee.”
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