Markle, whose official title is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex since her marriage to Prince Harry, has been a daily topic in media and among royal family watchers.
Markle is the product of a white father and black mother—a social worker who lives in the mostly African American L.A. suburb of View Park-Windsor Hills (incidentally, one of the wealthiest black suburbs in the country).
It’s been a constant source of buzz—the first woman of color to become part of the British royal family. Yet, there are other black women royalnistas around the globe:
Princess Angela of Liechtenstein
Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein and Princess Angela of Liechtenstein (Pinterest)Princess Angela (born Angela Gisela Brown) was a standout graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York and worked
as a fashion director for Adrienne Vittadini, before marrying Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein in January 2000. This Afro-Panamanian beauty also started her own line, A. Brown, which she headed for three years. The couple wed at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York, after reportedly meeting a few years earlier at a reception in the city. The princess wore a white dress which she designed and the same Kinsky royal-jeweled tiara that Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein wore when she married Philipp von Lattorff in June 1999.
Baroness Cecile de Massy of Monaco
Baroness Cecile de Massy of Monaco and Christian Louis Baron de Massy (Facebook)de Massy is married to Christian Louis Baron de Massy who is Prince Rainier of Monaco’s nephew. The fashionable beauty
of Caribbean descent is a prominent fixture among the who’s who of Monaco’s social scene and is also involved in philanthropy, serving as president of Ladies Lunch Monte-Carlo, a charitable organization in Monaco.
Princess Sikhanyiso of Swaziland
(Wikimedia)The first of 30 children of King Mswati III of Swaziland, this princess is more than a pretty face, speaking out to raise awareness on issues such as AIDS and poverty that affect her country. With interests in the arts, this 30-year-old studied drama at the University of Biola in California and was featured in publications as one of the top hottest young royals.
Princess Keisha Omilana of Nigeria
(keishaomilana.com)A former model, spokesperson, and actress, Omilana adds brains to beauty as a businesswoman. The Inglewood, California, native started Wonderful Brand, a multifaceted business incorporating fashion, television, and web, with her husband, Kunle, a Nigerian prince. Known as the “Pantene Girl,” Omilana is cited as the first African American woman to be featured in three consecutive commercials.
Countess Mary Von Habsburg of Austria
Ferdinand Leopold Joseph Count von Habsburg and Countess Mary Von Habsburg (Pinterest)
Habsburg, a native of Sudan, is the wife of Ferdinand Leopold Joseph Count von Habsburg of Austria. The couple wed in August 1999, hosting their ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya, and have three children, all born in Nairobi. Their marriage was seen as controversial among the public and in royal circles, because of her class as a commoner and her ethnic background; but the head of the Habsburg royal family, Dr. Otto von Habsburg, reportedly declared all Habsburg marriages “equal.”
Queen Sylvia Nagginda of Buganda (Uganda)
(sonianabetafoundation.org)
Born in the United Kingdom and raised in Uganda, this regal woman married King Kabaka Mutebi II in 1999, after a career working in various U.S. sectors including public relations, international nonprofits, and healthcare and human services. A graduate of New York University and New York Institute of Technology, the queen also advocates for public service, having worked as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund, and has worked as a consultant to bring resources to Uganda’s entrepreneurs and the business community.
—Editors’ Note: This article has been updated from its original publish date of April 28, 2011