It’s t-minus 2 days until actress Meghan Markle is set to marry Prince Harry. If you’re anything like me, you’re BEYOND excited for the royal wedding, and there’s been a ton of news in the past few days as more details about the upcoming nuptials are released. So we put together some quick facts about Meghan and her life to help you learn everything you need to know about the future royal princess.
Her first name isn’t Meghan
It’s true! Meghan was born Rachel Meghan Markle on August 4, 1981 in Los Angeles. Her mother, Doria Ragland is a yoga instructor and social worker and her father, Thomas Markle, was a television lighting director who worked on the set of Married… with Children. She also has two half-siblings on her father’s side, a brother named Thomas Markle Jr. and a sister, Samantha Grant.
Meghan was raised in Los Angeles throughout her entire childhood, attending an all-girls Catholic high school there. When she graduated high school, she went on to attend Northwestern University in Illinois where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in theater and international studies.
She’s an actress
While many recognize Meghan from her role as Rachel Zane in USA Network’s show Suits, she had several small guest roles before booking Suits in 2011. She appeared on General Hospital, 90210, CSI: New York, Fringe, Castle, and even had a small stint as a briefcase girl on game show Deal or No Deal.
Meghan hasn’t appeared in many films, but some of her film credits include Remember Me, Horrible Bosses, and Get Him to the Greek. The last film she appeared in was the 2015 crime-film Anti-Social.
In November 2017, Meghan announced that she would be retiring from acting after finishing her time on Suits in order to focus on her new royal responsibilities. “I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change,” Meghan told Sky News. “It’s a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I’ve been working on [Suits] for seven years. We were very, very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series…I’ve ticked this box, and I feel very proud of the work I’ve done there, and now it’s time to work with [Harry] as a team.”
She used to run a lifestyle blog
Back in 2014 Meghan started her lifestyle blog The Tig, where she wrote about everything from her favorite recipes, travel spots, her experiences as a biracial actress, and even interviews with inspiring women like Serena Williams and Yara Shahidi. Unfortunately, Meghan shutdown The Tig in April 2017 after confirming her relationship with Prince Harry, but you can still find archives of her posts there if you give them a Google.
She has a complicated relationship with her family
Unfortunately, Meghan’s family has been all over the news lately, and no one wants that right before they’re about to get married. First, Meghan’s dad was caught up in a scandal over setting up paparazzi shoots ahead of her wedding. Then there was a bit of back and forth over whether or not he would attend the wedding, noting he recently suffered a heart attack and would need an intensive heart surgery the Wednesday before the wedding. Ultimately, Meghan released a statement saying that her father would not attend the wedding to walk her down the aisle so that he could recover from his surgery.
A statement from Ms. Meghan Markle: pic.twitter.com/TjBNarmuBU
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 17, 2018
Then there are Meghan’s half-siblings Thomas Markle and Samantha Grant. Thomas and Samantha have basically been bashing Meghan to the press for months now, saying they’re hurt that they have not received wedding invitations, even though they have been estranged from Meghan for years now. A couple weeks ago Thomas published a handwritten note via InTouch asking Harry to cancel the wedding, calling Meghan a “jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will make a joke of you and the royal family heritage,” which is just ridiculous and incredibly out of line. Samantha has a long history of bashing Meghan, most recently calling Meghan out for trying to “muzzle” her.
Lots of people have strained relationships with their family, but Meghan has to deal with her relationships with her estranged siblings in such a public manner and that’s awful, especially when she has no control or idea of what they are going to say.
She’s been married before
There’s not much to say about this other than Meghan married producer Trevor Engelson in Jamaica in 2011, and they divorced a few years later in August of 2013.
She met Harry on a blind date
Who knew blind dates work out sometimes? Harry and Meghan were introduced by a mutual friend on a blind date, and the rest is history! They reportedly fell in love while spending time together in Botswana and announced their engagement after 16 months of dating. Hearing Meghan and Harry talk about their relationship and engagement is seriously swoon-worthy, and since the engagement they have appeared together in a series of public events in order to introduce Meghan to the world of the royals.
She’s a humanitarian
Harry and Meghan spent a considerable amount of time doing humanitarian work in Botswana, which they cite as an important moment of their relationship, but Meghan has been concerned with giving back for years before she met the royal. She has worked for organizations such as One Young World, focusing on gender equality and modern-day slavery; World Vision Canada, focusing on the clean water campaign in Rwanda; and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. She’ll likely continue with this charity work after marrying Harry, following in a long line of humanitarian royal women.
She’s the future Duchess of Sussex
After the wedding, she and Harry will be granted the title of Duke and Duchess of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth, just as William and Kate were named Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after their wedding. So she won’t technically be a princess, but nothing is stopping us from calling her Princess Meghan.
We absolutely cannot wait to watch the royal wedding and see all the good Meghan does as the future Duchess of Sussex. Coverage of the royal wedding will begin this Saturday morning, May 19, and you can join Her Campus in watching the livestream right here.