5 Royal Love Stories That Seem Straight Out Of A Movie
Whether it was Cleopatra and Mark Anthony’s tragic love story or Shah Jahan building a grand monument in memory of his dead wife, royals have served as an inspiration for sweeping tales of love and loss over the years.
While there’s no denying that men going to war and destroying cities to win you back is romantic in its own right, princes and princesses of modern times have a more non-violent and realistic take on love and relationships. Even without tragic ends and grand monuments, these love stories seem like they’ve been written by a sappy romance novelist or a rom-com movie writer.
From Prince Harry stepping back from royal duties to support Meghan Markle’s mental health to Princess Indira Raje secretly calling off her royal wedding to marry her beloved prince, these royal love stories will make you swoon.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
One of the most beloved royal couples of all time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex got married in a grand wedding ceremony that was watched by millions across the world in 2018. Markle, who was a non-royal and an actress, faced unwarranted speculations and racism by British media, leading to the Prince stepping back from his role as a senior member of the royal family and moving to America for a peaceful life with Markle and their kids.
Wallis Simpson and King Edward III
King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson
Prince Harry is not the only British royal family member who gave up their royal title for love. King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, gave up the throne to get married to his love, an American woman named Wallis Simpson. In an announcement that shocked the entire world, Edward said, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”
Princess Mako and Kei Komuro
Speaking of royal abdications in the name of love, Japanese princess Mako made news when she left behind her royal status just so she could marry her college sweetheart since Japanese law dictates that female royals have to abdicate in order to marry non-aristocrats. The former princess married commoner Kei Komuro in October 2021, winning every romantic’s heart with the photos of the two gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. Mako, reportedly, also rejected the payment offered as a protocol to female royals leaving the family.
Indira Devi and Prince of Cooch Behar
Princess Indira Raje and Prince of Cooch Behar
Princess Indira Raje, who later became Maharani Indira Devi, is iconic for several reasons. Not only is she one of the most stylish Indian royals of all time, she is also one of the most rebellious ones. The princess was all set to marry the king of Gwalior when a serendipitous trip to the Delhi Durbar in 1911 led her to meet Prince Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar. The two fell in love and the princess called off her wedding to the King via a personal letter, much to her parents’ horror. Despite several attempts by them to make her change her mind about marrying the prince of a relatively smaller kingdom, the princess followed her heart and became the Maharani of Cooch Behar.
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco
American actress and one of the most beautiful women of the time Grace Kelly left behind a Hollywood career on the rise to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The two met in the French Riviera when Kelly was shooting for Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief. Their first meeting was filled with comical delays (Kelly couldn’t dry her hair because the power went out in all of Cannes and got late to meet the prince) and near-misses. But the two met and fell in love. According to several accounts, the prince courted Kelly through letters and gifts until she agreed to marry him and move to his kingdom.
