Prince Harry And Meghan Markle: Is Harry’s Girlfriend To Be A U.S. Princess?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been dating for some time, and as with any prominent member of the British royal family, the celebrity rumor mill is buzzing.

Meghan Markle came to public attention as a member of the cast of Suits, a legal drama. Markle plays Rachel Zayn, a talented paralegal and the love interest for the lead character, Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams. Suits tells the unlikely story of Mike Ross, a man with a photographic memory who becomes a top lawyer despite never having attended law school. After news broke that Markle was dating Prince Harry, Meghan must reflect on the “truth being stranger than fiction.”

Like his mother Princess Diana, Prince Harry is often seen as gossip fodder. Harry has been seen as something of a lady’s man, and on occasion, he has embarrassed his family. Pictures of Prince Harry dressed as a Nazi officer while attending a fancy-dress party were slammed by most of the British press back in 2005. As BBC News reported, Prince Harry had to apologize for his behavior on that occasion.

Prince Harry seems to have left those days in the past, and it is widely claimed that the 32-year-old Prince is ready to settle down with Markle. According to Celeb’s Now, bookmakers have slashed the odds on Prince Harry proposing marriage to Meghan during 2017. Apparently, a spokesman for betting company Ladbrokes explained that gamblers are laying bets that a Royal proposal is on the cards.

“Punters are piling into odds and it looks like Royal watchers won’t have to wait too much longer for the Prince to get down on one knee.”

Others suggest that Markle is set to give up her acting career to spend more time with Prince Harry, and it seems that Harry is willing to move to the U.S. to be near Meghan.

So, Are Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Getting Married?

When you are a member of the British royal family, even in the modern world, things are never straightforward. Prince Harry is fifth in line to the throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William, and William’s children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The birth of Prince William’s children does mean that Prince Harry no longer bears the weight of royal expectation that he once did. When Princess Charlotte was born, Prince Harry told the Independent that he was delighted to move down the line of royal succession, but does that mean Harry can marry Meghan Markle and move to America?

Theoretically, there is nothing to stop Prince Harry from following his heart, but there are two huge obstacles in his way. Those obstacles come in the form of Queen Elizabeth and her sense of royal duty. Queen Elizabeth’s own children have caused a great deal of scandal in recent years. Prince Charles, Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew have all been through divorces, but those scandals were nothing in comparison with the scandal that hit the royals in 1936 involving an American actress.

King Edward abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. His abdication pushed Queen Elizabeth’s father onto the throne, a role he was not prepared for. Queen Elizabeth was never able to forgive her uncle, and it has proven to be the driving force behind her own sense of duty. King Edward is the reason that Queen Elizabeth would never abdicate and why Prince Charles will not stand aside to pass the crown to prince William when his mother dies.

If Prince Harry does marry Meghan Markle, the royal couple will be given a Duchy and gifted a Royal palace. Royal protocol would demand that Prince Harry continues to fulfill his royal duties. Prince Harry could refuse to meet his obligations, but he is unlikely to do so. Anyone marrying into the British royal family has duty and expectation thrust upon them, there is no reason to believe that Markle would be any different.

If the couple do marry, it is much more likely that Markle would be expected to live in the UK, and it is unlikely that she would be able to continue working as an actor. Marriage between the pair would see Meghan Markle become something of a fairytale princess, but there will be a price to pay.

[Featured Image by Stefan Wermuth/Pool/AP Images]