So, Princess Meghan it will be. No, I know that won’t be her name officially. But we all know that whatever Meghan Markle’s official title ends up being (right now, it seems most like she’ll become the Duchess of Sussex), ‘Princess Meghan’ will be her unofficial title in the press.
The news of Harry and Meghan’s engagement comes as little surprise – after all, the tabloids have been telling us for weeks that the announcement might be on the cards. But you know, after a fairly depressing Budget, it’s nice to have a good news story. We might even get another Bank Holiday (sorry, what was that you said about productivity?)
I think it’s refreshing that Harry has progressed from his Sloaney blonde era in his choice of fiancée. Not that Cressida or Chelsey would have made a hash of being a Duchess. But more that variety is the spice of life. People were unsure how things would pan out when Zara started seeing Mike Tindall, for instance, but that seems to be going swimmingly. Anyway, Cressida was an actress too, so perhaps Meghan isn’t all that different from his previous girlfriends after all.
Who’s to say that Meghan won’t fit in perfectly well with the Royals? We already know that she loves dogs (she has two of her own, Guy and Bogart, who are apparently being prepped to make the move over to London), and given that Harry is practically the only member of the Royal family without a dog, her pets are sure to stand her in good stead. She’s also got herself some Hunter wellies and a Barbour, and apparently she has even taken on board the Queen’s ‘no knees’ rule, and stopped wearing shorts. Golly.
There are two things that I’m left wondering about, though. Firstly, what kind of wedding might they be planning? We know it’s going to take place in spring next year – and with the Duchess of Cambridge’s third child due in April, the wedding is unlikely to take place before then. It’s currently doing the rounds that the couple are planning a ‘non-traditional’ wedding, but at the moment, the betting markets are saying that St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle is the most likely venue. That sounds fairly ‘traditional’ to me – after all, Edward VII was married there, as were Prince Edward and Harry’s cousin, Peter Phillips. It’s also where Charles and Camilla had their wedding blessed. But according to ‘sources’, whoever they may be, Harry doesn’t want his wedding to be ‘pomp and pageantry’. So I’m intrigued.
Secondly, what will the American press make of ‘Princess Meghan’? We know that they’re obsessed with ‘Princess Kate’ – and anyone who watches ‘Say yes to the Dress’ (yes it is a programme about choosing wedding dresses…) knows how popular ‘the Kate’ dress is among brides to be. So will they embrace Princess Meghan with even more fervour than Kate given that she is, after all, American? Or will the fact that she’s one of their own make her that bit less interesting? I don’t know the answer, but I’m sure we’ll find out.
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