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No, the Queen Did Not Throw Shade at Meghan Markle in Her Marriage Blessing — and Here's Why

19/03/2018 - 08:26 AM

Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancée US actress Meghan Markle pose for a photograph in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in west London on November 27, 2017, following the announcement of their engagement.Britain's Prince Harry will marry his US actress girlfriend Meghan Markle early next year after the couple became engaged earlier this month, Clarence House announced on Monday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS        (Photo credit should read DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) Image Source: Getty / Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP [1]

Queen Elizabeth II gave her official consent for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle [2]'s marriage ahead of their wedding [3] in May, and some are side-eyeing the statement because of how different it is from the one she wrote for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge before their wedding back in 2011. On March 14, the queen offered her blessing during a Privy Council meeting at Buckingham Palace [4], declaring, "My Lords, I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle, which Consent I am causing to be signified under the Great Seal and to be entered in the Books of the Privy Council."

Before proposing to Kate Middleton [5] in October 2010, Prince William had to get the thumbs up from the queen, and according to BBC News [6], she "readily gave her consent." Elizabeth signed a detailed notice of approval [7] to the union of "Our Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, K.G. and Our Trusty and Well-beloved Catherine Elizabeth Middleton." The notice was dated Feb. 9, 2011, just two months before Kate and William tied the knot. While the queen made sure to also refer to Harry as her "most dearly beloved grandson," the lack of equal sentiment for Meghan (whose real name is Rachel [8]) is raising eyebrows. But should it be?

Meghan was said to have impressed the queen when they first met [9] last Summer, and Her Majesty even broke royal protocol by allowing Meghan to spend Christmas with the family [10] at Sandringham (an invitation usually reserved for wives). Most recently, they even spent Mother's Day together [11] at Windsor Castle. By all accounts, Queen Elizabeth is happy that Harry is happy — so why try to find shade within her statement?

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 13:  HRH Prince Harry, Laughs next to HM Queen Elizabeth II as they look out from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 13, 2009 in London, England. The ceremony of Trooping the Colour is believed to have first been performed during the reign of King Charles II. In 1748, it was decided that the parade would be used to mark the official birthday of the Sovereign. More than 600 guardsmen and cavalry make up the parade, a celebration of the Sovereign's official birthday, although the Queen's actual birthday is on 21 April.  (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)Image Source: Getty / Chris Jackson [12]

Due to the Royal Marriages Act 1772, the monarch has the right to veto the marriage of a member of his or her family and is required to give formal consent to any family marriages in order to guard against those that could "diminish the status of the royal house." The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 states that "a person who is one of the six persons next in the line of success to the Crown must obtain the consent of Her Majesty before marrying." Because Harry is still fifth in line for the throne [13] (at least until William and Kate's third child is born) he had to secure his grandmother's permission before walking down the aisle.

There are a multitude of reasons the queen could have chosen such scant wording for Meghan in comparison to Kate, but the biggest could just be the fact that she knew Kate for far longer before the royal wedding than she's known Meghan. Referring to Kate as "Our Trusty and Well-beloved" spoke to her years long romance with William [14] as well as the relationship Kate built with Elizabeth, which first began with their initial meeting at Peter and Autumn Philipps's wedding [15] in May 2008.

Queen Elizabeth is fully capable of throwing shade [16], and I just don't think this constitutes. She used Meghan's formal name, and as far as I can see, didn't refer to her as "American divorcée Meghan Markle" or "Former Suits star Meghan Markle," so maybe we should all just accept the queen's blessing for what it is — her permission for Prince Harry to marry the love of his life [17].


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