Early Monday, news broke that Meghan Markle and her beau, Prince Harry, were engaged to be married. The unemployed, rich 33-year-old Brit and the 36-year-old “Suits” actress started dating sometime around November 2016, and according to Harry, it was love at first sight. Aw!
Unsurprisingly, Meghan Markle isn’t the first American to marry into a life of royalty. And she certainly won’t be the last. Here are eight other American women who married into royal families.
Lee Radziwill
Socialite — and younger sister of Jackie O. — Lee Radziwill’s second husband was the Polish nobleman Prince Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill. The couple married on March 19, 1959 and had two children before divorcing in 1974.
Lisa Halaby
Halaby, better known as Noor Al-Hussein or Queen Noor of Jordan, married King Hussein of Jordan in 1978, after the death of his third wife Queen Alia. They were married until his death in 1999 and had four children.
Grace Kelly
The actress abandoned her career and became Princess of Monaco after marrying Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956. The couple remained married until her untimely death at age 52, and shared three children.
Rita Hayworth
On May 27, 1949, the Hollywood star married the Italian-born Prince Aly Khan, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, only a year after they met. Their tumultuous union lasted fewer than four years, and together they shared a daughter.
Wallis Simpson
Simpson, a twice-divorced socialite, famously charmed King Edward VIII so much that he famously abdicated the throne to marry her in 1937. They stayed together until his death and had no children.
Kelly Rondestvedt
An investment banker, Princess Kelly of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha married Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha in 2009. They have three children.
Kendra Spears
Spears, formally known as Princess Salwa Aga Khan, married Prince Rahim Aga Khan in 2013 at Geneva’s Chateau de Bellerive. The couple lives in Switzerland and share two children.
Sarah Butler
Now known as Princess Sarah Zeid, Butler married Middle Eastern prince Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein in 2003.
