Like the rest of us commoners, royal expert Leslie Carroll is also setting her alarm clock to watch the grand wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. As the author of American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Carroll has some insight as to what makes this couple so magnetic.
Speaking to Parade, Carroll explains:
Not only is she biracial, which is a biggie and a first for the 1,000-plus year-old British monarchy, but Meghan is a divorced American actress. For centuries, when a king or prince took an actress as a mistress, that was considered scandalous. Now the grandson of the queen of England is about to marry an actress. Also, she’s 36 (that’s the same age Diana was when she died), and Harry is three years younger. So he’s marrying an older woman and a career woman too.
She says Markle is also interesting because she’s the first American to “legitimately marry a Windsor,” adding, “The idea that a California girl who has ancestors who were slaves is marrying into the house of Windsor is huge.”
As for Harry, Carroll says the image of him as a 12-year-old little boy walking behind Princess Diana’s casket, is forever etched in our memories. “It breaks your heart to think about it.”
As for America’s obsession with the Meghan and Harry, it basically comes down to Disney. Says Carroll:
I think it’s because of our love of romance novels and happily-ever-afters. We love that idea, and we love reading about queens and kings. It’s a trope that has appealed to us since we read fairy tales as kids. It’s also this idea of a Cinderella but, in this case, Meghan is the feminist Cinderella.
The couple is going to be swapping “I dos” on May 19.
