Royal betrothal eh-OK with us Canucks
Prince Harry, Markle union will test new rules on marriage between monarchs, commoners
Prince Harry will be the highest-ranked royal to test new rules that govern marriage between commoners and members of the Royal Family, and his bride-to-be Meghan Markle is already well-accepted by Canadian society.
“She has been living and working quietly in Toronto for the past few years,” said Sarika Bose, a University of B.C. lecturer in Victorian literature and an expert on the Royal Family. “She does live a private life, but she is also friends with some of the most powerful families in Canada, Ben Mulroney and his wife, and (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau).”
Interest in the monarchy is as strong as ever in Canada, according to Jean Mayer of the Dickens Sweets and British Museum in Chilliwack.
The museum has a room dedicated to the Royal Family, which gets “lots and lots of visitors.”
“I saw the engagement this morning and I thought that was quite nice, he’s marrying an American quite like Edward and Mrs. Simpson,” said Mayer, who was raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland. “He’s not having to abdicate, so the Royal Family has come into the 21st century and I’m glad they have.”
The British Empire was scandalized when King Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, like Markle an American and a commoner.
“Now, this marriage will be completely acceptable and celebrated, as it should be,” said Mayer.
The royals remain extremely popular in B.C., if the crowds they draw are any indication, said Kenneth Lane of the Monarchist League, Victoria branch.
“People were bending over backwards to get a look at (Prince William) and the Duchess of Cambridge when they were here last year,” he said.
The B.C. Lottery Corporation has even opened betting on which month next spring Harry and Meghan will tie the knot, where his stag will be held and even who will design Markle’s dress.
Markle has a considerably more textured background than your average Anglo-Saxon would-be princess. She is American and an actress. She reportedly shares common ancestors with the late Elizabeth, Queen Mother, but is also descended from an emancipated slave from Georgia. She is mixed race, half Euro-Caucasian and half African-American. She is a Roman Catholic and divorced.
But all those strikes — at least five and counting — no longer matter.
Her religious affiliation alone would have disqualified Harry from ascending to the throne under centuries-old rules that were only rewritten two years ago. Her status as a divorcee would have had the same effect.
“The rules about who you can marry are now much broader, especially for someone as far down the line of succession as Prince Harry,” said Bose.
Markle will on her wedding day become by law Her Royal Highness, Princess Henry of Wales, but she will not officially become a full-fledged princess because she is a commoner. Rather, she will be Meghan, Princess of Wales and as a princess by marriage, a Duchess.
Confused? There are literally entire books dedicated to succession. “She is not born into a royal family like Princess Charlotte or Princess Anne, and so can’t ever be Princess Meghan,” said Bose. “It’s like Kate Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge.”
Under the Succession to the Crown Act — which was passed into Canadian law in 2015 — Prince Harry will remain fifth in line to the throne, at least until Prince William’s next child is born.