Yahoo News Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce engagement: Will Donald Trump be invited to the Royal Wedding?
Prince Harry is to marry his girlfriend, the American actress Meghan Markle, Clarence House confirmed yesterday.
More details are expected to be announced today, with the wedding venue yet to be confirmed, but it will be the guest-list that many will be most curious about.
Markle was born in Los Angeles, which immediately poses the question: will US President Donald Trump have to be invited to the royal wedding?
While Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to receive one of the sought-after invites, along with other Commonwealth leaders, the controversial Republican may be left off the guest-list.
With the level of protection that surrounds an American leader, the inclusion of Trump would give security chiefs a headache as they work to police the high-profile event.
His appearance could also spark mass protests, given the opposition to a proposed state visit shortly after his inauguration.
After Theresa May extended an invitation, polls suggested that up to two million people would take to the streets in demonstrations.
Michelle and I are delighted to congratulate Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their engagement. We wish you a lifetime of joy and happiness together.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 27, 2017
In 2011, US president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were not invited to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding, reportedly because of the added security costs.
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However, they were given a state visit to the UK a month later.
If Trump was given the same treatment, it would be expected that newly royal Markle — as a fellow American — would meet him and join guests at the state banquet.
But the actress has previously been critical of the Republican, branding him “misogynistic”.
Markle, who backed Hillary Clinton for president, suggested in a television interview in 2016 that she would leave America and stay in Canada if Mr Trump won.
“We film Suits in Toronto and I might just stay in Canada. I mean come on, if that’s reality we are talking about, come on, that is a game changer in terms of how we move in the world here.”
Markle told Larry Wilmore’s Nightly Show in the US: “Yes, of course Trump is divisive.
“Think about just female voters alone. I think it was in 2012, the Republican Party lost the female vote by 12 points.
“That’s a huge number and as misogynistic as Trump is and so vocal about it, that’s a huge chunk of it,” she said.
At the wedding of Harry’s parents, the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, in 1981 US president Ronald Reagan did not attend but his wife, first lady Nancy Reagan, did.
This could be an option for Harry, who has already met the current first lady Melania Trump in Canada ahead of the 2017 Invictus Games.
Harry has, however, forged a strong bond with the Obamas, through his work with servicemen and his trips to America, meaning a royal wedding invite is more likely to be on the cards for them.
