19 people of non-blue blood who became members of royal families through marriage

It turns out that Cinderella in the modern world is not so difficult to become. You can also meet your prince or princess at the bar. At least that's how Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, or Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, found her prince. And Kate Middleton met her future husband in college.

Divorced American actress Meghan Markle will soon join the royal family of Great Britain, marrying one of the most eligible suitors, Prince Harry, in the spring of 2018.

Source: Business Insider

Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco

Grace Kelly began her acting career in 1950, but six years later, after marrying Prince Rainier III of Monaco, she left Hollywood. The couple met during the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, to which the actress was not even supposed to go. The couple had three children.

In 1982, Grace Kelly died in a car accident — she had a stroke at the wheel, and she lost control, driving off a cliff.

Charlene, Princess of Monaco

Charlene is a former South African Olympic swimmer. She met Prince Albert II, Grace Kelly's son, during a competition in 2000. They first appeared as a couple in public in 2006 at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, and got married in 2011. In 2014, the couple had twins.

Kate Middleton, or Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

Kate studied art history at St Andrews University. I met Prince William while studying in 2001. After years of relationships and breakups, the couple finally got married in April 2011. The couple has two children, they are expecting a third.

Silvia Renata Sommerlath, Queen of Sweden

Sylvia was working as a flight attendant and guide-interpreter during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich when she met Carl Gustaf, the heir to the Swedish throne. After the death of his grandfather in 1973, Charles became king. The couple married in 1976, they have three children and five grandchildren.

Daniel Westling, Duke of Westergetland

Daniel was a gym owner and personal trainer when he met Crown Princess Victoria in 2001. The heiress of the Swedish throne came to him for training. The couple got married in 2010, they had two children.

Sofia Hellqvist, Duchess of Vermland

Before becoming a member of the Swedish royal family, Sofia worked as a model and participated in a reality show on television. Prince Carl Phillip, the son of Queen Sylvia and brother of Princess Victoria, and Sofia began dating in 2010 and married in 2015. Their first child was born in April 2016.

Michiko Seda, Empress of Japan

Michiko met her future husband, then Crown Prince Akihito, on a tennis court in 1957. Despite the fact that members of the royal family opposed their union and it violated centuries-old traditions, the couple married in 1959. Michiko became the first woman of non-aristocratic origin to enter the imperial family. The couple has three children, whom they raised themselves.

Masako Owada, Crown Princess of Japan

Masako graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics and returned to Japan to study law at the University of Tokyo in 1986. In the same year, she met Crown Prince Naruhito, the son of the Emperor of Japan, during a reception in honor of the Infanta of Spain, Duchess de Lugo. She agreed to marry the prince only after the third marriage proposal. The lovers got married in 1993, the couple had a daughter.

Maxima Cerruti, Queen of the Netherlands

Maxima has a degree in economics, and she was also vice president of sales at Deutsche Bank. She met Prince Willem-Alexander in 1999 in Spain at a private party. The heir then simply introduced himself as Alexander, and the girl did not know that he was of royal blood. The couple married in 2002 and had three daughters.

Leticia Ortiz, Queen of Spain

Before her marriage to Prince Philip VI, Leticia worked as a journalist and news anchor. The couple got married in 2004, and for the bride it was the second marriage. They had two daughters. After his father abdicated in 2014, Prince Philip became king and Leticia became queen.

Masenate Mohato Siiso, Queen of Lesotho

Masenata studied at the National University of Lesotho in 1997. Her engagement to King Letsie III became known in 1999. The couple got married a year later, they have three children.

Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Montpez

Mary met Prince Frederick in a pub in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics. The girl moved to Denmark in 2002 and worked as a research consultant at Microsoft Business Solutions. The couple got married in 2004, they have four children.

Marie Cavalier, Princess of Denmark, Countess of Montpellier

Marie had a successful career in marketing when she met Prince Joachim at a mutual friend's private party. Although the girl had serious doubts about marrying a member of the royal family, in 2008 the couple still got married. The couple has two children, and Marie became a stepmother for the prince's children from his first marriage.

Tatiana Blatnik, Princess of Greece and Denmark

Tatiana graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in sociology in 2003 and met Prince Nicholas. She worked for fashion designer Diana von Furstenberg until 2010, but quit to devote herself to wedding planning. The couple got married in 2010.

Sonja Haraldsen, Queen of Norway

She met her future husband, then Crown Prince Harald V, in 1959. Nine years later, the king still gave permission for the lovers to marry, and in 1968 they got married. Sofia became queen when her husband inherited the throne in 1991.

Mette-Marit Tjessem Heibi, Crown Princess of Norway

Mette-Marit met Crown Prince Haakon of Norway during the country's largest rock music festival Quart. Years later, they met again when Mette-Marit was already a single mother. The couple married in 2001, and they had two more children.

Rania Faisal Al-Yasin, Queen of Jordan

Before her marriage to Abdullah II, Rania worked at the international bank Citibank. In 1993, she met the future king and married him in June of the same year. Abdullah became king after his father's death in 1999.

Jetsun Pema Wangchuck, Queen of Bhutan

There were rumors that Jetsun met her future husband Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk at a picnic when she was only 7 years old, and the heir was 17. At the same time, Jigme allegedly promised that they would get married as soon as they grew up. Jigme became king in 2008, and in 2011 the couple got married. Jetsun was 21 years old at the time. Their first child was born in February 2016.

Meghan Markle, the future Duchess

The couple's engagement was officially announced on November 27, 2017. Meghan Markle is an actress, model, activist, and private entrepreneur. It is already known that Markle is leaving the series "Force Majeure", thanks to which she became famous. She also works as a women's rights activist for the UN Women's Political Participation and Leadership Program.

It is said that Prince Harry liked the girl when he saw her in the series. Two years later, they were introduced by a mutual friend. A specialist in the royal family believes that Meghan will definitely be called "Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales", but not "Princess Meghan". Most likely, she will be given the title of Duchess, and Prince Harry will be given the title of Duke of Sussex.

Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales

The infamous Diana was actually more than of aristocratic origin. The Princess of Hearts was born into a noble family and became Lady Diana in 1975, when her father inherited the title of Count. Diana became the Princess of Wales after her marriage to Crown Prince Charles, and they had two sons. The couple divorced in 1996, and almost a year later Diana died in a terrible car accident.