8 tips for an American who wants to marry Prince Harry
LONDON -- The idea of marrying a British prince might sound foreign to most people.
But, if you're a foreigner that happens to fall in love with a member of the royal family, then chances are you'll have to make a few rather considerable changes in your life.
As rumour and speculation abounds about Prince Harry's alleged connection to American actress Meghan Markle, the question on many people's lips is: will she and Harry marry?
Mashable spoke to British etiquette expert William Hanson to find out how an American would be expected to behave as a member of the British royal family.
"She will have to educate herself on the finer points of royal protocol," says Hanson.
1. Reign in the emotions
Displays of emotion and overexcitement aren't the done thing in the royal household. If Harry were to bring anyone home, she might have to display something of a pokerface.
"Traditional royals normally only display emotions to dogs and horses. She would have to reign it in in terms of her emotion and getting over excited too really if she wished to have any longevity," Hanson told Mashable.
2. Find out who to curtsy to
Hanson says Harry's future spouse would have to know who to curtsy to. She would have the same rank as him whenever they were together.
"If they were walking down corridor at Buckingham Palace with Prince Harry, she would have to curtsy to anyone more senior to her. So, in ascending order, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of Edinburgh and The Queen," says Hanson.
If Harry and his wife were walking down the and they encountered less senior members of the royal family, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, however, they would have to curtsy to her, according to Hanson. "If she walked down the corridor alone, however, she would have to curtsy to every blood royal she came upon," Hanson continued.
3. Follow the Queen's lead
"When she dines with the Queen for first time, she should not carry on eating after the Queen finishes eating. When Queen stops everybody stops. She also shouldn’t start eating before the Queen begins her meal," says Hanson.
4. Don't buy your own tiara
According to Hanson, one should never, ever buy one's own tiara. You should only wear one if the royal family were to give you one, or if your family has a tiara. Only married members of the royal family should wear tiaras, says Hanson.
5. Don't touch the Queen
"Michelle Obama famously put her arm around the Queen, which is a big no no. And LeBron James once hugged the Duchess of Cambridge," said Hanson.
"Do not touch the Queen. Do not kiss the Queen," Hanson continued.
Shaking hands would not, however, be out of the question.
"If she were meeting Prince Charles for the first time, it wouldn't be wrong to shake his hand. She should wait for Prince Charles to extend his hand. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to meet her," Hanson continued.
6. Don't call the Queen 'she' or 'her'
When speaking directly to the Queen, Harry's partner would have to call her "Your Majesty". When talking about the Queen, she would have to say "Her Majesty" or "the Queen was saying..."
For everyone else in the royal household, she would have to say "His/Her Royal Highness", "Ma'am" or "Sir," according to Hanson.
7. Less is more
"When it comes to hair, makeup and fashion, less is more. Kate gets it right. Her look is always subtle and demure," says Hanson.
8. Do charity work
Hanson says that Prince Harry's future love might encounter a "fair bit of gentle persuasion" to give up her job in order to support her husband's public role. Charity work would also play a heavy role in her day-to-day activities.
"She would be expected to find her own charities to be patron of and to support," Hanson said.
"She would be sacrificing a large portion of freedom and life. You would sacrifice a lot. It's not all glitz and glam," Hanson continued.
BONUS: The royal childhood
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
