American Princesses: From Hayworth to Markle

An American Princess: Meghan Markle

Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle will tie the knot at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday.

A picture released on December 21, 2017 by Kensington Palace shows Britain's Prince Harry posing with his fiancée U.S. actress Meghan Markle at Frogmore House in Windsor. [Photo: IC]

Prince Harry first confirmed he was in a relationship with Markle in late 2016. The announcement was made in a statement from Kensington Palace attacking the media for subjecting her to a "wave of abuse and harassment".

Last November, Harry's father Charles, the Prince of Wales, announced his son's engagement to Markle. 

A Twitter post by Clarence House, the official residence of Britain's Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, on November 27, 2017, announcing the engagement of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. [Screenshot: China Plus]

On the day the engagement was announced, the couple posed for photos in the gardens of Kensington Palace.

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for photographs during a photo-call on the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, November 27, 2017. [Photo: AP]

In December, Kensington Palace announced that the wedding would be held on May 19th, 2018, following an earlier announcement that the ceremony would be held at St. George's Chapel. Later that month, three official portrait photographs were released by the palace to mark the couple's engagement.

A picture released on December 21, 2017 by Kensington Palace shows Britain's Prince Harry posing with Meghan Markle at Frogmore House in Windsor. [Photo: IC]

Last week, Buckingham Palace shared an image of the Instrument of Consent, the hand-written document that records Queen Elizabeth II's consent for the marriage.

A picture released by Buckingham Palace on May 11, 2018, shows the Instrument of Consent signed by Queen Elizabeth II that allows her "Most Dearly Beloved Grandson" to marry Meghan Markle. [Photo: AP]

Meghan Markle is best known for her role in the hit American legal drama "Suits". The marriage of a divorced, biracial, American commoner into the royal house has raised the level of public interest in their relationship.

A photo (top) shows actress Meghan Markle discussing her role in the television show "Suits" at the AOL BUILD Speaker Series at AOL Studios in New York on March 17, 2016. And a photo (bottom) shows Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attending a Thanksgiving Service and Commemoration on ANZAC Day at Westminster Abbey in London on April 25, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Markle is the first American to marry into the British royal family since 1937, when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry Wallis Simpson.

Ages-long love story: Duke and Duchess of Windsor

Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, is a controversial figure in British history. 

A portrait camera study of Wallis Simpson shown on December 3, 1936. [File Photo: AP]

In 1931, the American socialite met Britain's Prince of Wales while she was in her second marriage.

Five years later, the Prince was crowned King Edward VIII. Soon after taking the throne, the new king proposed to Wallis, triggering a constitutional crisis. 

Edward VIII, former King of England then Duke of Windsor, and his bride, Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson, following the civil and religious ceremonies at the Chateau de Candé, near Tours, France, on June 3, 1937. [File Photo: AP/BIPPA]

In December 1936, Edward VIII abdicated the throne, saying "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility ... without the help and support of the woman I love."

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor at a house in Ashdown Forest in England on September 13, 1939.[File Photo: AP]

Wallis and Edward married on June 3, 1937 at the Château de Candé in France, forging a new life together as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

American princesses

Meghan Markle is not the first American to marry into a royal household and become a princess.

Rita Hayworth

Hollywood star Rita Hayworth married Prince Aly Khan in 1949. The wedding marked the first time a Hollywood actress became a princess.

American actress Rita Hayworth became the bride of Prince Aly Khan on December 7, 1949. They are seen here during their wedding reception at the prince's Chateau de L'Horizon on the French Riviera. [File Photo: AP]

Grace Kelly

American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956, becoming the Princess of Monaco.

Princess Grace Kelly waves to cheering crowds as she rides with Prince Rainier III following their marriage in Monaco Cathedral on April 19, 1956. [File Photo: AP]

Lee Radziwill

Lee Radziwill, an American socialite and younger sister of the late U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, married Polish Prince Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill in 1959. The marriage ended in divorce in 1974.

Hope Cooke

New York socialite Hope Cooke wed Prince Palden Thondup Namgyal of Sikkim in 1963.

The Crown Prince of Sikkim, Maharajkumar Thondup Namgyal, and his bride, the New York socialite Hope Cooke, during their wedding in the Royal Buddhist Chapel at Gangtok in the Himalayas on March 20, 1963. [File Photo: AP]

Diane von Fürstenberg

Belgian-American fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg married Prince Egon von Fürstenberg in 1969. Their marriage only lasted three years. Their only son, Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg, married Alexandra Miller in 1995, but the pair separated in 2002 and later divorced.

Lisa Halaby

Princeton graduate Lisa Halaby wed King Hussein of Jordan in 1978, becoming Queen Noor of Jordan. "Noor" means "light" in Arabic.

King Hussein of Jordan and his wife Queen Noor in Washington on June 19, 1980 [File Photo: AP/Ira Schwarz]

Marie Chantal Miller

Marie Chantal Miller wed Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece in 1995, making Pavlos the first European crown prince in his generation to marry a commoner. Miller became Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Greece and Princess of Denmark.

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece waves to crowds of well-wishers with his bride Marie-Chantal Miller as they leave the Greek cathedral in West London on July 1, 1995. [File Photo: AP/Alistair Grant]

Sarah Butler

In 2000, Houston-born Sarah Butler married Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, son of Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid, the Lord Chamberlain of Jordan. She became Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan after the marriage.

Kelly Rondestvedt

In 2009, American investment banker Kelly Jeanne Rondestvedt married Hubertus Michael, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Hubertus, Prince of Saxony Coburg and Gotha, right, leads his American wife Kelly Rondestvedt out of St. Moriz church in Coburg, Germany, following their wedding on May 23, 2009. About 400 guests attended the wedding of the prince and the 34-year-old from Pensacola, Florida. [File Photo: AP/Eckehard Schulz]

Kendra Spears

Kendra Spears, a Seattle native and former fashion model, married Prince Rahim Aga Khan in 2013, becoming Princess Salwa Aga Khan.