Prince Harry to marry American actress

Britain’s royal family announced Monday the engagement of Prince Harry, 33, second son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, to American actress Meghan Markle, 36. The two have dated since June 2016 and plan to wed in the spring. Markle grew up in California and starred in the USA Network show Suits. She was previously married to producer Trevor Engelson, whom she divorced in 2013. Queen Elizabeth II, Harry’s grandmother, has met Markle and given the couple her blessing, according to the announcement, which underscored how the monarchy has adjusted to changing cultural values. The queen’s uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry an American divorcée, thrusting the crown upon his brother, who became George VI, and putting young Elizabeth in line for the throne. The queen famously refused to approve the marriage of her sister, Princess Margaret, to a divorced palace staffer, Peter Townsend, in 1952. Elizabeth later worked with Prime Minister Anthony Eden to attempt to change the law requiring her assent to family marriages, but by then Margaret and Townsend had decided not to marry. The law remained in place until 2015, when it was changed to require only the six closest heirs to the throne to ask the queen for permission to marry. Harry is fifth in line for the crown after his father Charles, his brother Prince William, his nephew Prince George, and niece Princess Charlotte.