Harry marrying a spunky American divorcee would have sent the Royal Family into fury 80 years ago
But if Meghan can succeed where countless English gals have failed in making Harry settle down, they should make sure he weds her ASAP
It’s been a hell of a year, hasn’t it? Syria imploding, Europe splintering, refugees suffering, ISIS horrifying, and the deaths of so many beloved celebrities from Muhammad Ali and Gene Wilder to David Bowie and Prince.
Not to mention, depending on your view of him, the ascent of Donald Trump to Most Powerful Man on Earth.
All of which has left many people feeling generally unsettled, and in need of a reassuring tonic.
Enter the British Monarchy, a much-maligned institution but one that often provides a reliable dose of reassuring joy and happiness just when the world needs it most.
More specifically, enter Prince Harry and his new girlfriend, American actress Meghan Markle.
The couple were photographed together for the first time yesterday, attending the hit play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End.
They wore matching beanies and looked just like any other love- struck man and woman in the first flush of love.
A few days ago, they bought a Christmas tree together and took it back to Harry’s home in Kensington Palace.
Surely the ultimate sign that this is a serious relationship?
I mean, you don’t buy a Christmas tree with someone you’re flaky about, right?
So rumours, naturally, are ablaze that they may be about to announce their engagement. To which I say: bring it on! This is not just because I know Ms Markle – we met for drinks in my local London pub in the very week she first dated Harry back in June – and believe her to be perfect princess material.
No, it’s because I think they’re superbly well suited, Harry needs to settle down (if even half the stories I hear about his wild partying are true then this is an urgent request…), and frankly, we all need a royal wedding to take the edge of these tumultuous times.
Anyone who’s been watching The Crown on Netflix will appreciate the delicious irony of this situation.
Prince Harry’s only No5 in line to the British throne by default – and it’s all thanks to an American woman about the same age as Meghan.
Exactly 80 years ago this week, his great, great uncle Edward VIII abdicated as King because he fell in love with a US- born divorcee named Wallis Simpson.
He could not marry her because of his position as head of the Church of England, which banned divorcees from remarrying in church if their ex spouses were still alive.
Edward, therefore, had to choose between being King or being Wallis Simpson’s third husband, and sensationally, he chose the latter option.
His successor was his younger brother George VI, who was then succeeded on his death in 1952 by his daughter Elizabeth, who became Queen Elizabeth II, the current Monarch.
Elizabeth’s eldest son Prince Charles, her immediate heir, has two sons, Princes William and Harry.
So if anything, God forbid, happens to Charles and William, and William’s children George and Charlotte, then Harry will be King.
And if Meghan Markle is his wife, then, in that eventuality, she would become Queen.
Imagine that – an American divorcee becoming Queen of England!
Yet, what a great thing that would be too.
When their relationship was first revealed, the world’s media went predictably nuts and Harry issued an angry statement telling everyone to back off his girl.
I understood his concern. After all, he lost his mother Diana to a car crash