It seems safe to say that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be residing in fancy digs for the rest of their lives. Before they were engaged, the couple stayed in a cute cottage on the Kensington Palace grounds; after they tie the knot on May 19, it’s rumored they’ll move into a posh apartment adjacent to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s residence. They have all these opulent properties at their fingertips, and the night before their wedding will be no exception: Markle and Prince Harry are reportedly opting to stay in some very nice hotels ahead of the event.
A royals expert named Omid Scobie tweeted the scoop on Monday, May 14. “#RoyalWedding news! The night before their wedding, #HarryandMeghan will stay at separate hotels around Windsor: Harry will stay at the @CoworthParkUK with Prince William. Meghan and mom Doria Ragland will stay at @Cliveden_House on the National Trust’s Cliveden Estate,” he tweeted. Check it out for yourself, below:
Both Coworth Park and Cliveden Estate are luxurious, five-star hotels located near St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Markle and Prince Harry will have their ceremony. A basic room at Coworth Park is roughly $432 a night, while the accommodations at Cliveden run about $445 a night. That’s a steep price, I know, but if you have cash to spare your Meghan Markle Experience is just two clicks away—well, and a flight if you’re not in the London area.
For those of us who don’t have $500 lying around, though, we can live vicariously through Coworth Park and Cliveden Estate’s Instagram accounts:
Where Prince Harry will be spending his night.
Where Markle is spending hers.
It’s cool, guys. I’m more than content in my shoebox apartment.
In less than a week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will walk down the aisle with who-knows-how-many millions of people around the world tuning in. (Deadline reported that 23 million Americans and more than 27 million Brits watched Kate and William tie the knot in 2011.) And although there was certainly a worldwide obsession with Kate Middleton, there’s a different vibe surrounding Markle.
Because she’s an American, Markle automatically feels like one of us. She’s older than Harry (who she’s publicly noted is also a feminist); she’s from a mixed-race background; and she’s (gasp!) divorced. She worked her way to a successful acting career and has an entrepreneurial spirit that led her to launch her own lifestyle site, The Tig. This is a girl who was fighting for gender equality at age 11 and has spoken on the issue at the U.N. She is basically ticking off modern-princess boxes faster than we can come up with them.
But then there’s that pesky rub: She’s had to give a lot of this up in order to marry Harry.
In her first sit-down interview with her fiancé, Markle explained that she didn’t think she was sacrificing anything.”I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change. It’s a new chapter,” she explained. “And keep in mind I’ve been working on my show [Suits] for seven years. We were very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series. For me, once we hit the 100-episode marker, I thought, I have ticked this box, and I feel really proud of the work we’ve done there, and now it’s time to work as a team with [Harry].”
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It’s true, the couple will have a huge global platform to do good work and draw attention to causes that they care deeply about. But let’s break down what Markle has had to say goodbye to in order to enter this new reality.
Her Acting Career
After graduating from Northwestern University, Markle paid her dues in Hollywood working her way up from guest spots and game shows to becoming a regular on a hit cable show, Suits, for seven seasons. That’s a career path that many trying to make it in the entertainment industry would be psyched to have. While nothing is guaranteed, it’s not crazy to assume that even if Markle wanted to leave this particular show, there would be other acting opportunities in her future. That’s a dealbreaker in royal-land, though. (See also: Kelly, Grace.)
And so Markle departed the show in grand fashion: with a gorgeous wedding and a happily-ever-after that we hope holds true IRL, too.
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Her Lifestyle Site
R.I.P, The Tig, Markle’s site that was a “hub for the discerning palate—those with a hunger for food, travel, fashion & beauty.” She shut it down in April 2017 writing:
“After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it’s time to say goodbye to The Tig. What began as a passion project (my little engine that could) evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity. You’ve made my days brighter and filled this experience with so much joy. Keep finding those Tig moments of discovery, keep laughing and taking risks, and keep being ‘the change you wish to see in the world.’Above all, don’t ever forget your worth – as I’ve told you time and time again: you, my sweet friend, you are enough. Thank you for everything.”
It’s no small feat to launch a side hustle while working full-time, as Markle was. She had become quite the influencer, appearing on shows like Today and speaking at conferences like Create + Cultivate. Hopefully she finds similar fulfillment in her philanthropic work and community outreach as a royal to fill this void.
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Her Social Media Presence
Back in January, Markle deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts. Now that her personal site’s are gone, we get our Markle updates via the @KensingtonRoyal accounts, which also handle social for Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton.
Perhaps giving up social media was totally Markle’s choice. I hope it was. When Middleton and Prince William were dating, this wasn’t so much of an issue because, well, the aughts—but I would loved to have seen Kate’s posts from back in those days.
Her Privacy
As Markle noted in her post-engagement interview, she might have worked in the entertainment industry, but she’d never been a part of “tabloid culture” before her relationship with Prince Harry went public. Now, she’s one of the most famous women in the world who has her every move—and hairstyle—picked over by the press and the public.
This attention has, at times, been extremely negative. In fact, Kensington Palace issued a rare public statement on behalf of Prince Harry about Markle after she was bombarded with racism. “His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment,” the statement read. “Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments…It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm. He knows commenters will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that this is ‘all part of the game.’ He [Prince Harry] strongly disagrees. This is not a game—it is her life and his.”
PHOTO: Getty Images
On the flipside, Markle can have a tremendous impact as a role model for little girls (and boys) all over the globe—and that’s pretty awesome. If only the trolls didn’t come with it.
Markle may indeed be the very model of a modern princess—or duchess, which will likely be her official title after May 19—and I hope her marriage and the work that comes along with it brings her happiness. Lord knows, I’ll be watching and obsessing over it all. (Sorry, Meghan!) I just wish she hadn’t had to sacrifice so much in the process.
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With just a week left until the royal wedding, Lifetime is starting the celebration early with its much anticipated made-for-TV movie about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, aptly titled Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance (airing Sunday, May 13). Based on the teasers alone, the movie looks like a fun ride—but we wouldn’t expect anything less from a Lifetime original.
The actress who plays Markle, Parisa Fitz-Henley, insists the movie is a touching tribute to the royal couple. “What we’re doing is making a really sweet romance that is an homage to them,” she tells Glamour. “I’m excited to see what they pull off together [as a couple].”
Fitz-Henley was also excited about diving into Markle’s life and career. “I wasn’t a royal watcher [before this],” she admits. “I watched Meghan on Fringe, which I’m a big fan of, but that was my only experience of her. I hadn’t watched Suits. But the more I watched and learned…she’s a really remarkable person.”
The resemblance between Fitz-Henley and Markle is pretty remarkable too, but the former admits she never noticed it. As Fitz-Henley researched Markle more and more, however, she started to see a lot of herself in the soon-to-be royal. “I could relate to her in a lot of ways: being biracial, being an actress, so seeing that, I just felt, ‘Ahh! What an interesting person to take a crack at,’” she said.
Fitz-Henley has a white, American mother and Jamaican father, and like Markle her parents divorced when she was young. “My experiences were very mixed growing up,” she says. “Growing up in Florida and Jamaica, in one place I was a minority, and another place I was part of the majority. Once I was threatened with spending a night in jail because I was, quote unquote, too dark to be out this late.”
It’s because of those experiences that Fitz-Henley says she identifies with the racial struggles Markle has talked about. “I’m both black and white and neither,” Fitz-Henley says. “But I’m really happy to be an adult at this very time in the world where I have the perspectives that I have.”
That’s why Fitz-Henley prefers to focus less on Markle’s seemingly fairy tale ascent and more on the dedicated causes she’ll take on as part of the royal family. “It will be really interesting to see the way she works within a fairly strict system and still be herself,” Fitz-Henley says. Read what else the actress has to say about Markle in our interview, below.
Glamour: Did you and Meghan ever run into each other on the audition circuit? Or go up for the same roles?
Parisa Fitz-Henley: We must have. I know that we must have gone up for some of the same things in the past, and we have close friends in common, which I found out later. Definite social circles crossing.
Glamour: Are any of the close friends you know of hers going to the wedding?
PFH: Yeah, at least one I know for sure. [Editor’s note: Fitz-Henley later revealed on Access Live that it’s actress Janina Gavankar.]
Glamour: Did you talk to anyone that had ever worked with Meghan?
PFH: No, and that was somewhat deliberate. We had a very short time to get started on this. I think after the chemistry read, I was in Canada to shoot the movie a week and a half later. Also, I knew that any real friend of hers wasn’t going to talk about her, and that has stayed the case. That’s very heartwarming to me, to know that we have close friends in common [and still] that I don’t know things about her. It felt right to me to approach this the way that I did, which was getting what was publicly available and then using my intuition as an artist to fill it in. If we were going to be doing some very hard-hitting biopic specifically about Meghan Markle and had months to prepare, maybe it would be a different story. But I feel like what we did preparation-wise felt right for this project.
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Glamour: So what did you watch to prepare for the role?
PFH: Everything that was available of her online. [Laughs.] I watched the engagement video, any interview I could find of her when she was talking about her work. I watched her speech at the U.N. events, episodes of Suits, her Hallmark movie. Just anything that I could put together this version of her that I played.
Glamour: Once she became engaged to Prince Harry, did you start getting mistaken for her more?
PFH: Never. It doesn’t happen. Even now. The hair makes a huge difference. I don’t wear my hair the way that she does. I’ll admit when my hair is like hers, if I’ve seen it quickly, I’m like, “Which one of us is it?” But when I’m not in her look, no. It just never happens. Family and friends have said to me, “Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it.” But pretty much everyone agrees, when the hair and the look is there, but otherwise, no.
Glamour: Aside from the physical, what was it like trying to emulate her body language?
PFH: The thing that was really a gratifying challenge was embracing the kind of confidence she walks around with. I tend to be a little more nerdy and neurotic than she seems to be, and playing somebody who has that quiet confidence and command of the room…I have those in other ways, it was just really an exploration to embody them as her. We have very many similarities, but we have some pretty significant differences that people wouldn’t necessarily realize. That was interesting for me.
I think a lot of people don’t realize that this is a woman who double-majored in theater and international relations. She could have just as easily been a diplomat as she could have been an actor. When I look at her, I don’t think she left her job to become a princess. I don’t look at her like that at all. I think she shifted from telling the truth of imaginary characters to telling the truth of a real life human being. She’s a person who’s able to convey the stories of people’s lives. She’s definitely somebody who knows herself and knows her purpose; Harry too. This idea that she’s this fairy-tale princess and has been rescued from this working life…it’s not what she’s shown us [through her humanitarian work].
Glamour: Because you’ve studied so much of her life, is it a bit odd when you watch her now?
PFH: By the end of shooting, because we had so many pictures up of her in the makeup trailer, I’d feel like it was watching me! I’ve had a couple times people ask me about the royal wedding, and my stomach flipped, like, “I don’t have to do anything with this! This isn’t my actual life!” I do find myself really protective of her, but then I tend to be protective of my sisters in the world. I definitely want people to know her and not pigeonhole her.
PHOTO: Lifetime
Glamour: You mentioned that one of the ways you relate to her is that you both are biracial. What does it mean then to see her become a member of the royal family, which traditionally has been all white?
PFH: It means a lot. The first time I saw an advertisement with a biracial couple, I was so excited and really blown away. I grew up in places where people looked at us funny and couldn’t understand how it was possible that my mother had my brother and I. My mother is blond and has very fair skin, so seeing this now, I’m really grateful that it’s allowed people to have the conversations that we need to be having right now. It does bring up some of the grossest aspects of humanity as well, [given how some] people are reacting, but it also brings out some of the best. But by bringing out the grossest aspects, we have a chance to put some sunlight on it and clear it out. And that feels really important. People discussing this right now because she happens to be in this family is fantastic to me. It means a lot to me just to see that things are changing.
Glamour: If you could ever sit down with Meghan, what would you want to ask her or talk about?
PFH: I can’t imagine how saturated she must be by everything. If anything, I’d be like, “Girl, can I get you a cup of tea or something?” I have full confidence she can handle everything that’s coming at her. My question for her would probably be “How can I have your back if you need it?”
Glamour: Let’s talk about her style and the Meghan Markle effect. Have you drawn inspiration from her looks?
PFH: Her style inspires a lot of people because it’s simple, beautiful, modest, and flattering. I am inspired by her willingness to show things that are beautiful. To support designers that are local to her, like you see her supporting Canadian designers, especially when she was [in Toronto, and even now]. What I find really inspiring about her is just how she carries herself in this world. When you see the pictures of her from the Tig and from her Instagram, or things that she has written. The whole package is what I think is interesting and inspiring.
Glamour: What are you excited for her to accomplish in this new role?
PFH: I’m excited about the teamwork. When you get intelligent, caring people together who have a shared purpose, all kinds of wonderful things can happen. I’m excited to see what they pull off together, and the way she works within this system. She is someone who is known to be outspoken and diplomatic. It will be really interesting to see the way she works within a fairly strict system and still be herself and be of service in ways that are authentic to her within this larger stage she’s on.
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Glamour: What do you love about her relationship with Harry?
PFH: From what I’ve seen in the press and in their interview, they really seem like friends and are very encouraging of each other. That’s what’s inspiring to me. They’re teaming up to help people together and that is amazing.
Glamour: Finally, will you be waking up early to watch the royal wedding?
PFH: I don’t know! I don’t even know where in the world I’ll be that day. [Laughs.] There’s a possibility I won’t have to wake up early for it, depending on my travels at that time. But at the very least, I’ll be watching the highlights of it as much as is humanly possible.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
It’s May, which officially means Royal Wedding fever has kicked in. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will tie the knot on Saturday, May 19 in front of thousands of people at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle—and millions more worldwide. To call it the pop-culture event of the year is an understatement. These nuptials have taken on a life of their own.
So it’s no wonder the television lead-up to the Big Day is intense. There are five (yes, five) TV specials airing the week before May 19 about Markle and Prince Harry’s relationship—and one of those specials airs five times in that week. There hasn’t been this much coverage of one event since, well, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in spring 2011.
Here are all the things you can watch before the Royal Wedding to get hyped. As for how to watch coverage of the actual wedding, no worries: Find out about that here.
Meghan Markle: An American Princess (May 11 at 8 P.M. ET on FOX)
Fox will air this special about Markle’s life and journey to Kensington Palace just days before she and Prince Harry tie the knot. The documentary focuses more on Markle than Prince Harry and features interviews from her half-sister, Samantha, Piers Morgan, Paul Burrell (Princess Diana’s former butler), and Dickie Arbiter (Queen Elizabeth II’s former press secretary.)
“Since the early days of the British monarchy, right up to the present, the royal family has captivated the minds and imaginations of people across the globe,” Rob Wade, president of alternative entertainment and specials for Fox, said in a statement, according to Variety. “With Meghan Markle on the cusp of becoming a real princess, joining the likes of Princess Kate and the late Princess Diana, this special will give viewers a unique look and insight into her journey, from her upbringing in Southern California to her wedding to Prince Harry in Windsor Castle.”
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Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance (May 13 at 8 P.M. ET on Lifetime)
Of course the Lifetime movie about Markle and Prince Harry’s courtship is making this list. It’s difficult to say how accurate this depiction will be, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying it with a bottle of wine and your tribe of royal family aficionados. Don’t miss the scene where the actors playing Markle and Prince Harry pet a giraffe.
Million Dollar American Princesses: Meghan Markle (May 13 at 9 P.M. ET on Smithsonian Channel)
Smithsonian is dedicating a special episode of its popular Million Dollar American Princesses franchise to Markle, which will explore her ascent from Suits actress to soon-to-be duchess. Interestingly, the network will contextualize Markle’s story with other notable American women who left the United States to marry European aristocracy, like Grace Kelly and Rita Hayworth.
Inside the Royal Wedding: Harry and Meghan (May 16 at 10 P.M. ET on NBC)
On Friday, May 18, NBC will air all four hours of Today from Windsor Castle, and Hoda Kotb will start reporting from the ground there on Thursday. Before that, though, check out this hourlong broadcast, which will feature interviews from prominent figures in entertainment as well as Markle and Prince Harry’s close friends. This is where you’ll easily find all the details you want about the upcoming nuptials.
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Royal Wedding Watch (May 14-17 at 10 P.M. ET, and May 18 at 10:30 P.M. ET on PBS)
Meredith Vieira and British television presenter Matt Baker will host this nightly series leading up to the Royal Wedding that takes fans behind-the-scenes on everything—from protocol surrounding the Royal Wedding to the cake and the entertainment. These five nights serve mostly as backgrounders—offering information to viewers that will make their experience following the Royal Wedding more fun. Honestly, at this point, I’m here for any TV special that even mentions Markle’s wedding dress.
It’s official: Meghan Markle will become a royal in just 14 days. And as we get closer to the big day on May 19, more and more wedding details are being released by Kensington Palace. So far we know the florist, the cake, the music, and, as of yesterday, that Meghan won’t have a maid of honor. Now, there’s new details about how exactly Meghan and Prince Harry will honor his late mother, Princess Diana.
According to Kensington Palace, Meghan and Harry have decided to make other living members of Diana’s family not just a part of the wedding, but active participants in the ceremony.
“All three siblings of Diana, Princess of Wales will be in attendance and Lady Jane Fellowes will give the reading,” the statement read. “Prince Harry and Ms. Markle both feel honoured that Lady Jane will be representing her family and helping to celebrate the memory of the late Princess on the wedding day.”
While Meghan’s 3-carat diamond engagement ring already includes some of Princess Diana’s diamonds, royal expert Katie Nicholl speculates that Meghan might wear another piece of Diana’s jewelry as her “something borrowed.”
“Harry made sure Diana wasn’t forgotten on the day of his engagement,” Nicholls told British newspaper, Express. “Two of the diamonds in Meghan’s ring are from Diana’s personal collection. So I think there’s every possibility that Meghan might wear a piece from Diana’s jewelry collection on her wedding day.”
That being said, it’s unlikely Meghan will wear the Spencer tiara because she’s marrying into the Windsor family. A few more likely options? The Qatar diamond and pearl earrings gifted to Diana by the King of Qatar or a diamond and sapphire suite from the Sultan of Oman in 1986. Honestly, with choices like these, the end result—whatever it is—is bound to be stunning.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might be walking down the aisle on May 19, but the soon-to-be newlyweds won’t be settling into vacation mode anytime soon. Instead of heading off on their honeymoon, Kensington Palace confirmed Friday, the couple will get back to work immediately following their big day.
“The couple will be going on honeymoon, but not straightaway,” Kensington Palace spokesman Jason Knauf explained to reporters. “They will have their first engagement as a married couple in the week after the wedding.”
It appears that postponing honeymoons is becoming somewhat of a royal tradition. In 2011, Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, had to move theirs due to work reasons as well. At the time, a St. James’s Palace spokesperson told the Telegraph that the “Duke will return to work as a search and rescue pilot next week.” The spokesperson added, “The locations of both their private weekend before the Duke returns to work and their future honeymoon, which will be overseas, will not be disclosed in advance.”
However, the world quickly learned that Prince William and Kate chose the Seychelles — an archipelago of 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa — as their romantic honeymoon destination.
“The couple thoroughly enjoyed their time together, and they are grateful to the Seychelles government for their assistance in making the honeymoon such a memorable and special 10 days,” a spokesperson for the royal family told reporters following their trip.
Like his older brother, Prince Harry and Meghan are expected to travel to Africa for their honeymoon getaway as well. According to reports, the couple will likely head to Namibia for their vacation and stay at Natural Selection’s Hoanib Valley Camp.
So, maybe there really is a chance for these two to escape the prying eyes of the world for at least a week or two. At the very least, the lions, zebras, and antelope on their safari promise to keep quiet.
