It's not long now until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are the royally wedded couple we've been rooting for. However, before their May 19 nuptials, there's one more item they have to check off their list: the Queen's blessing. This is part of the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013, which requires the Queen to approve the marriages of the first six people in the line of succession (Prince Harry is fifth). Luckily, on Wednesday Queen Elizabeth readily gave her consent in the form of a no-nonsense and not-to-be-trifled-with official letter.
"My Lords, I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle, which Consent I am causing to be signified under the Great Seal and to be entered in the Books of the Privy Council," it reads, according to the official documents on People.
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While nobody was ever seriously worried that the Queen wouldn't consent to the marriage of her grandson, Markle joining the family is a tad controversial. She was recently baptised under the Church of England after growing up Catholic, so norm has been taken care of, but there's still the fact that Markle was married once before, divorcing from husband Trevor Engelson in 2013.
While divorce and remarriage was previously forbidden in the Church of England, it changed its tune in 2002 as a part of the General Synod.
"The Church of England teaches that marriage is for life," they announced. "It also recognizes that some marriages sadly do fail and, if this should happen, it seeks to be available for all involved. The Church accepts that, in exceptional circumstances, a divorced person may marry again in church during the lifetime of a former spouse."
With the Queen's approval done and dusted, there's nothing else left but to enjoy wedding planning — which I'm sure for one of the most high-profile couples in one of the most traditional families isn't stressful at all.
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