HRH Prince Henry of Wales, KCVO, better known as Prince Harry, is one of us.  He’s a science fiction and fantasy fan.  As SCIFI.radio reported earlier this month, he and his brother, HRH Prince William, had cameo roles in Star Wars: The Last Jedi as stormtroopers escorting Finn.  Both brothers toured the studio where the Harry Potter movies were filmed.

Prince Harry, his sister-in-law HRH the Duchess of Cambridge (nee Kate Middleton), and his brother Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, experiment with wands on the set of Harry Potter.

Prince Harry, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William at Warner Bros. Studio.

FRINGE: Junior Agent Amy Jessup (guest star Meghan Markle, L) assists with an investigation involving the Fringe Division in the FRINGE Season Two premiere episode "A New Day in the Old Town" airing Thursday, September 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Liane Hentscher/FOX

Meghan Markle as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in “Fringe.”

HRH Prince Harry announced his engagement November 27, 2017, to American actress Rachel Meghan Markle, whose stage name is Meghan Markle.  Ms. Markle is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the cable show Suits, but she has had three science fiction roles.

Ms. Markle played Natasha on the short-lived SF legal drama, Century City, starring Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd, best known for his roles as Horatio Hornblower and Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic.  She appeared as Annie Ortiz on the 2009 reboot of Knight Rider, starring Justin Bruening as Michael Knight’s son, Michael Traceur.  Bruening played Steve Trevor in the 2011 Wonder Woman made-for-TV movie starring Adrianne Palicki; he was Benjamin Price on the horror show Ravenswood.  Ms. Markle played Junior FBI Agent Amy Jessup on the TV show Fringe.  Since 2011, she has appeared in Suits with Gina Torres, who was Zoe in Firefly.

Ms. Markle has not yet announced whether she intends to continue her acting career after marriage, or whether she will devote herself to a new life being Her Royal Highness, Princess Henry of Wales.  Prince Harry’s older brother was created Duke of Cambridge hours before his wedding, and it is likely that their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, will grant Prince Harry and his bride a title of their own.

As The Mary Sue pointed out, Prince Harry’s engagement shows major changes for the royal family.  “No matter what you feel about the royal family—and there are a lot of opinions that are valid on both sides—the significance of Prince Harry being engaged to a divorced, mixed-race African-American woman, post-Brexit, is hella big news.”  Ms. Markle is an actress, a career that was formerly considered unsavory and immoral.  She is biracial; her mother is African-American.  She is Roman Catholic and her future grandmother-in-law is head of the Church of England.  She is not only a commoner, but an American commoner.  And biggest of all, she’s divorced.  Edward VIII had to abdicate to marry an American divorcee.  Queen Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret, was forced to break up with Group Captain Peter Townsend, because he was divorced from a hastily and ill conceived marriage during WWII.  (Ironically, the Church of England was formed when Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church so he could divorce the first of his six wives.)

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Chemijos, matematikos, lietuvi? kalbos korepetitoriai ir angl? kalbos kursai Kaune, Klaip?doje, Vilniuje

Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress ”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.