Rant #2,031: Royal Mile

I usually could care less about the British royals.

We could have had a king over here too, you know, but George Washington wanted to be called "President," and that is how it has gone in our country for the past 200-plus years.

But the recent announcement of the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pricked up my ears a bit.

The reason: Markle is not your proper, every day royal.

She is so outside the box, in so many ways, that you have to consider it somewhat incredible that she and Harry have gotten a royal blessing for their union.

But then again, they are so far away from the throne that it really doesn't matter much.

Now, if his brother had done this, then it would probably have been so different, with a different reaction.

Anyway, what is so special about Meghan Markle?

Well, to begin with, she is a complete and total outsider to the royalty, without any familial connection at all to the royal family.

This is highly unusual, since most of the royals marry very distant cousins. Remember, Charles and Diana were actually very distant cousins when they wed, for example.

Markle is American, which makes her union with Harry something special in and of itself.

She is an actress, with a number of credits under her belt, including a featured role on the USA Network show "Suits."

One has to wonder if she will give up acting when she marries. Royal wives are supposed to be just that, and little more, when they marry, but will Markle go up a different road?

She is also a divorcee, another unique facet about her.

There is a rumor, so far unfounded, that she may have converted to Judaism before she was married the first time. Her then-future husband was Jewish, and apparently, the two had a proper Jewish wedding, so as to suggest that she converted sometime prior to the nuptials.

I have read some stories denying this, others saying it is true, but whatever the case, she apparently entered into a Jewish union during her first marriage, which doesn't necessarily mean she converted, but on the other hand, doesn't necessarily mean that she didn't.

And, she is of mixed parentage.

Her mom was black, her father was white, and although this has happened to the royal monarchy before, it has not happened in a number of years, so as to make her unique among the British royals for the past 100 years or so.

Again, I think if the two were further up the line of succession, all of this would mean more than it actually does in the current situation, but it makes for an interesting round of water cooler babble, doesn't it?

Again, I usually don't get into the royal thing. I cannot stand the constant, never ending examination of Princess Diana, and I could care less about the other royals, but Markle's case is a bit interesting, and yes, it kind of intrigues me a bit.

This marriage bears watching, and I hope that they can make it, and her background does not become, well, a royal pain.