30 Established 1961 Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Lifestyle Features

Town Crier Tony Appleton holds a scroll outside Green Park in central London near Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiancee US actress Meghan Markle pose for a photo- This file photo taken on September 25, 2017 shows Britain’s Prince Harry (R) and Buckingham Palace after it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to graph in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace following the announcement. Meghan Markle (L) attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the Invictus Games 2017 be engaged. — AP/AFP photos at Nathan Philips Square on September 25, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. When Harry met Meghan: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle engaged, to wed next year

rince Harry, fifth in line to the British how happy she and Harry are together.” Harry’s in the area. Her father is a public with his winning smile, his military career throne, will marry American actress father, Prince Charles, told reporters he was Hollywood lighting director, her mother a yoga and his devotion to charities aimed at helping PMeghan Markle in the spring, palace offi- “thrilled” with the engagement. “They’ll be very instructor and psychotherapist. In some ways, disabled veterans and other causes. cials announced yesterday, confirming months happy indeed,” he said. The engagement Markle - a mixed-race American raised in The 33-year-old prince recently won praise of speculation. Markle, a humanitarian cam- announcement says the couple became California, an outspoken full-time actress, and a with his work campaigning for more openness paigner and lifestyle blogger who succeeded in engaged in London earlier this month and that divorcee - makes a surprising addition to about mental health issues. Speaking candidly show business before falling for Harry, will Harry has informed his grandmother, Queen Britain’s monarchy. about his personal struggle to cope with the become a senior member of the royal family as Elizabeth II. It says he sought and received the But the institution has moved on with the loss of his mother when he was only 12, he the wife of one of the monarchy’s most popular permission of Markle’s parents. times, and the romance between Markle and encouraged others to talk about their own figures. Harry - who has repeatedly stressed his wish to problems rather than keeping them bottled up Harry, a bad-boy-made-good by his tireless Speculation ends lead as “normal” a life as he could - has a inside. Markle’s Vanity Fair interview broke new devotion to wounded veterans and his embrace The couple plan to live in Nottingham decidedly unstuffy, modern feel to it. The ground. It is unusual for a royal love interest to of a variety of charitable causes, has said for Cottage at Kensington Palace. Markle is also announcement means another grand royal wed- speak so publicly, and candidly, before becom- several years that he wants to start a family, and reported to have started the sometimes time- ding may be in the offing - the first since ing engaged. the rumors of his engagement to Markle have consuming process of moving her dogs from William and Kate married in 2011 - though it is This file photo taken on December 12, 2012 shows Harry’s past reported girlfriends all shied been flying for some time. The marriage repre- Canada to Britain. She recently left her televi- possible the couple may choose to have a pri- Britain’s Prince Harry wearing his monocle gun away from the media limelight, and his sister-in- sents a first-ever blending of Hollywood glam- sion show, a development that helped fueled vate ceremony, perhaps in a remote location far sight as he sits in the front seat of his Apache law, formerly known as Kate Middleton, stayed our with the once-stuffy royal family, which has engagement speculation. Congratulations also from the paparazzi who bedeviled Harry’s Helicopter at the British controlled flight-line at silent until she and Prince William gave a formal of late seemed less fixed in its ways, and brings came in from the queen and her husband, mother, Princess Diana. Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. televised interview at Buckingham Palace after a mixed-race American divorcee into a highly Prince Philip, and from Prime Minister Theresa their engagement became public. It won’t be visible role. Harry’s brother, Prince William, and May. Markle’s parents also welcomed the news. ‘Happy and in love’ their courtship, the 36-year-old said: “At the the first time that a British royal has married an his pregnant wife Kate welcomed Markle to the Thomas Markle and said Markle, best known for her role as an ambi- end of the day I think it’s really simple ... we’re American, or a divorcee. In 1936, Edward VIII royal family. their daughter Meghan “has always been a kind tious paralegal in the hit US legal drama “Suits,” two people who are really happy and in love.” famously abdicated after he was forced to “We are very excited for Harry and and loving person. To see her union with Harry, surprised many when she shared her feelings Harry, once known for his dicey antics, includ- choose between the monarchy and his relation- Meghan,” they said in a statement. “It has been who shares the same qualities, is a source of for Harry in a September cover story for Vanity ing being photographed playing strip billiards ship with twice-divorced American socialite wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see great joy for us as parents.” Markle was raised Fair. Asked about the media frenzy surrounding in Las Vegas, has largely charmed the British Wallis Simpson. — AP

American actress Markle to be a new kind of royal

he is an entertainment figure in her own right, and an outspoken woman com- Sfortable talking about her background and her passions. American actress Meghan Markle will be a new type of royal when she A Saudi family weds Prince Harry in the spring. In some accompanies their ways, Markle - a mixed-race American child, who is wearing raised in California, and a divorcee - makes a a Jason Voorhees surprising addition to Britain’s monarchy. But hockey mask from the institution has moved on with the times, the Friday the 13th and the romance between Markle and Harry horror film series, as has a decidedly unstuffy, modern feel to it. they attend the first Markle, best known for her role as an ever Comic-Con ambitious paralegal in the hit U.S. legal drama Arabia event held “Suits,” surprised many when she shared her in the feelings for Harry in a September cover story capital Riyadh. for Vanity Fair. Asked about the media frenzy — AFP photos surrounding their courtship, the 36-year-old Saudi Arabia’s first ever Actress Meghan Markle participates in AOL’s BUILD Speaker Series to discuss her role on the television show, “Suits”, Comic-Con in New York. — AP photos ma surrounding menstruation, and has trav- eled to Rwanda as global ambassador for the charity World Vision Canada. She has described how her mother took her to the slums of Jamaica to witness poverty first- hand, saying experiences like that shaped her social consciousness and charity work. Harry said: “At the end of the day I think it’s really and Markle held hands for their first official simple ... we’re two people who are really appearance together in September in happy and in love.” Describing Harry as her Toronto at the Invictus Games, a sporting event for wounded service personnel that “boyfriend,” Markle said that while she A Saudi youth wearing a colored wig and shutter shades. expected that she and Harry would have to Harry spearheaded. “come forward” about their relationship at Both were dressed casually in jeans, smil- some point, the two were just a couple enjoy- ing and chatting as they arrived for a tennis ing time spent with each other. “Personally, I match. Several days later, Harry was pho- A Saudi woman uses her cell phone to take a “selfie” photo- love a great love story,” she said. tographed kissing Markle on the cheek as he graph with a cosplayer dressed as the Beast from Disney’s It is unusual for a royal love interest to joined the actress and her mother in a luxury 2017 live-action “Beauty and the Beast” film. speak so publicly - and candidly - before box to watch the event’s closing ceremony. becoming engaged. Harry’s past reported Markle said she met Harry through friends in girlfriends all shied away from the media London in July 2016, and that they had been limelight, and his sister-in-law, formerly dating quietly for several months before the A Saudi woman known as Kate Middleton, stayed silent until romance hit the headlines. uses her cell she and Prince William gave a formal tele- Markle was born Aug 4, 1981, to a clinical phone to take vised interview at Buckingham Palace after therapist mother and television lighting a “selfie” their engagement became public. But then, director father. She grew up in Los Angeles, photograph with unlike some other “commoners” romantically and now lives in Toronto. She studied at a a cosplayer. linked to Britain’s royals, Markle is no girls’ Roman Catholic high school before stranger to media exposure and the world of attending Northwestern University in Illinois, show business. where she studied theater and international The actress’s most successful role is the relations. Markle married film producer feisty Rachel Zane in the TV legal show Trevor Engelson in 2011, but the pair A Saudi cosplayer dresses in a suit and a wolf mask possibly “Suits,” now in its seventh season. Her career divorced two years later. from inspired by the videogame ‘Hotline Miami’. has also included small parts on TV series It wouldn’t be first time that a British royal including “Fringe,” ‘’CSI: Miami,” ‘’Knight has married an American - or a divorcee. In Rider” and “Castle,” as well as movies 1936, Edward VIII famously abdicated after including “Horrible Bosses.” Outside of act- he was forced to choose between the monar- ing, Markle founded a lifestyle blog called chy and his relationship with twice-divorced TheTig.com (which closed down in April American socialite Wallis Simpson. In her without explanation), and has lent her Vanity Fair interview, Markle made clear the celebrity status to humanitarian causes. world’s attention on her romance did not faze her. “I’m still the same person that I am, and ‘I’ve never defined myself’ I’ve never defined myself by my relation- She has campaigned with the United ship,” she said. “The people who are close to Nations on gender equality, written in Time me anchor me in knowing who I am. The rest is noise.” — AP magazine about girls’ education and the stig- A Saudi child dressed as Simba from Disney’s 1994 animated Saudi girls pose for a group picture as one stands behind a frame depicting King Kong. “The Lion King” film.