Stories breaking stigmas
No family in the world is written about as much as the British royal family. So when in November of 2017 Prince Harry announced his engagement to Meghan Markle, the press immediately started prying into every single detail of her past. The public's love affair with the young, beautiful couple culminated in their romantic and star-studded May 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle.
We thought the fairy-tale would last forever, but it didn't. What happened? Well, the only way to understand that is to go back to the beginning. For an overview of the run-up to the biggest royal crisis in decades, click on!
Despite everything, Harry and Meghan do still seem very much in love with each other.
The couple met on a blind date, set up by a mutual friend, and had immediate chemistry.
A few weeks after meeting, they traveled to Botswana to get to know each other better. It was there that their love was able to grow.
Harry admitted to never having watched 'Suits' before meeting his wife-to-be. In turn, Meghan barely had a notion of the role or function of the British monarchy.
The couple managed to keep their courtship a secret for about six months. However, press scrutiny prompted the Prince to finally admit he was head-over-heels!
It was at this point that press tried to dig up every single detail of the actress' previous life. The tabloids had a field day!
It wouldn't be long before Harry began to express serious concern for Meghan's safety, calling out negative press coverage of his wife-to-be as unfair, especially that early on.
Then there were the salacious "revelations" by Markle's biological father and half-sister in the press. Yet, the couple remained unfazed, strengthened by their love that seemed to be growing ever stronger.
And if there remained any doubt about her genuine love for the Prince, Meghan gave up her successful role on 'Suits' and moved to London from Toronto.
On November 27, 2017, the couple made it official: they were engaged!
From then on, they would rarely leave each others' side, and Markle joined her hubby-to-be on official events to get a feel for the role.
As the world looked on in admiration, the two were married on May 19, 2018, at Windsor Castle in a romantic star-studded wedding.
Meghan's father Thomas Markle Sr. was unable to attend and walk his daughter down the aisle. A staged photo shoot scandal and health issues prompted him to stay away, and it would be Harry's father Prince Charles that would walk Meghan down the aisle.
After the wedding, Meghan visibly grew into her role as Harry's spouse. She attended all official events and in late 2018 they set out on a very successful royal tour of Australia and Oceania.
October 2018 is also when the newlyweds announced that Meghan was pregnant. Yes, a new royal was on the way!
Meghan was given a surprise baby shower in New York. Among the guests were Serena Williams and Amal Clooney.
During her pregnancy, the first rumors of a rift between Harry and William started to surface.
The couple moved to Frogmore Cottage and refurbished it for £2.4 million (nearly US$2.9 million) of taxpayer money.
On May 6, 2019, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born. Meghan notably did not honor all of the royal traditions.
For instance, Archie wasn't delivered in the Lindo Wing at London's St Mary's Hospital, where all the royals were born. She also refused to pose in front of the cameras with the newborn after a few hours, instead deciding to wait a couple of days.
They also chose a non-traditional name for their son, consciously omitting any honorary titles.
In the summer of 2019, it started to be clear the two have a different, less traditional agenda in the way they want to fulfill their royal duties.
When they decided to leave the Royal Foundation, their joint charity, in 2019 and let it be known they wanted to set up their own charity, rumors of a rift between the princes resurfaced.
Not long after, Harry seemed to confirm them. When asked about it, he said, "Look, we're brothers. We'll always be brothers. We're certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him and, as I know, he will always be there for me."
The couple also decided that they wanted to keep the identity of Archie's godparents a secret after the baptism. This went directly against royal protocol.
When it became known that Meghan was to act as a guest editor for the British edition of Vogue magazine, another media storm was drummed up. This too was very unconventional.
In the issue of the fashion magazine in question, Harry said he and Meghan only intended to have two children because of the climate.
The couple is heavily criticized for claiming to care about the environment, but also regularly traveling by private jet. According to Harry, the reason for this was the couple's safety.
The negative press coverage prompts Harry to release a statement in which he admonishes the UK press for their treatment of his wife, comparing it to the way his mother Diana had been treated before her fatal car crash.
When several media outlets publish some extremely personal letters from Meghan, the couple sues.
The couple offered an intimate look at their lives in the documentary 'Harry & Meghan: an African journey.' In it, they also had a shocking revelation.
Meghan wasn't doing well. "I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair, and that’s the part that's really hard to reconcile," Meghan said. When she first met Prince Harry, her friends had told her "the British tabloids will destroy your life." She said she didn't get it at the time, but that it had been hard.
She also complained about never being asked how she was as a brand new mother.
Things went from bad to worse when the couple announced they wouldn't be celebrating Christmas in England, but rather in Canada.
Then in early 2020, they dropped a bombshell. They would be taking a "step back" from royal duties and wanted to divide their time between North America and the UK.
In February, the deeply controversial split from the British royal house started to look more like a blood feud, with the Queen announcing the couple would not be allowed to use their royal title in any commercial ventures. In March, the couple fulfilled their final royal duties.
See also: Life after Megxit? 15 possible career options for Harry.
Megxit: Autopsy of a royal fairy-tale
As of today, Harry and Meghan have officially stepped down from royal duties
CELEBRITY British royal family
No family in the world is written about as much as the British royal family. So when in November of 2017 Prince Harry announced his engagement to Meghan Markle, the press immediately started prying into every single detail of her past. The public's love affair with the young, beautiful couple culminated in their romantic and star-studded May 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle.
We thought the fairy-tale would last forever, but it didn't. What happened? Well, the only way to understand that is to go back to the beginning. For an overview of the run-up to the biggest royal crisis in decades, click on!