Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex: One Year After Becoming a Royal
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
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Meghan Markle, former Suits actress, married Prince Harry one year ago on May 19, 2018. It was at that time that Meghan became a royal with all the rights and privileges that any other royal has. Even though their wedding and marriage have been different in many ways, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have had a whirlwind first year together.
Before Meghan Markle married Prince Harry.
Meghan and Prince Harry began dating in the summer of 2016. At first, it was a secret romance. There were speculations that they were dating before it was officially confirmed. When the paparazzi began following the actress, Prince Harry notified the media to back off and leave his girlfriend alone.
In November 2017, Prince Harry proposed to Meghan. During their engagement interview, they both indicated that they wanted to start a family. Before the marriage could take place, there were a lot of things the actress had to do.
Meghan had to make some major adjustments before becoming a royal. One of the first things she did was to give up her acting career and moved to the United Kingdom from Toronto, Canada. She gave up her social media accounts including her fashion blog called "The Tig."
Meghan had to go through training to be baptized in the Church of England because she was raised a Catholic. Also, during the time between the engagement and the marriage, she had to be trained in other areas, including royal protocol.
Meghan's first year as a royal.
Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding took place in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. It was attended by invited guests and thousands of people waited outside the chapel to get a glimpse of the newlyweds when they left. The wedding ceremony was viewed by millions around the world on television.
Soon after the wedding, Meghan hit the ground running as she performed royal duties along with Prince Harry and sometimes by herself. Less than one month after the wedding, Meghan made her first solo engagement with Queen Elizabeth.
Less than a year after they were married, Kensington Palace announced that Meghan was pregnant in October 2018. Even so, the couple went on a 16-day royal tour to four different countries. That's when the public first saw her wearing maternity clothes and cradling her belly bump.
Meghan was photographed almost every day during her pregnancy. The fashions she wore were sold within hours after she wore them. It was estimated that the 37-year-old Duchess of Sussex's maternity wardrobe cost over $675,000 for the approximate 75 outfits she wore while she was pregnant with the couple's first child.
Royal couple becomes parents.
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Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor (Screenshot from YouTube video)
Just weeks before the Duke and Duchess became parents, they moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor so they could have more privacy and space to raise their child.
It was officially announced that Prince Harry and Meghan's baby would be born at the end of April or at the beginning of May. Not many details were revealed about the baby's birth initially. The public did find out that it was a boy who weighed seven lbs. and three oz. when he was born on May 6, 2019 at 5:26 AM.
Prince Harry stepped out alone and said he was "over the moon" after the birth of his son and he was proud of his wife. Two days later, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared together with Baby Sussex to show him to the public for the first time. A day later, his name was revealed to be Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Duke of Sussex did not take paternity leave. He went back to his royal duties within two days after his son was born. The Duchess of Sussex is expected to be on maternity leave up to six weeks. After then, she will return to her royal duties.
It is not unusual for royal babies not to be seen in public from the time they are born until weeks later when they are christened. At that time, the godparents will be announced. The parents can choose as many godparents as they like for their son. However, at least three godparents are required in the Church of England. The ruling is that two females and one male should be godparents to a baby girl. Two males and one female should be godparents to a baby boy. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have a lot of friends to choose from.
When Meghan married Prince Harry in 2018, she made history for being the first biracial American to become part of the royal family. Now that their son has been born, Archie had already made history because he is the first biracial royal baby. He is the seventh in line to the throne of England with dual citizenship. His parents decided they did not want him to have a title. Queen Elizabeth honored their decision even though they can change their minds later.
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Margaret Minnicks
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