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We’ve grown up with tales of princes and kings falling in love with commoners and living happily ever after. Sometimes these love stories extend out of the pages of our fairy tale books and into real life. Whether it’s Japan’s Princess Mako abdicating her title to be with her college sweetheart or Prince Harry falling in love with actress Meghan Markle, there have been several times when royals have proven that love always wins.
In 2024, we might not have kings declaring wars to fight for their beloved or grand mausoleums being constructed to immortalise dead queens, but these modern-day love stories between royals and commoners reaffirm our belief in love. Take a look…
Japanese Princess Mako won the hearts of romantics around the world when she abdicated her royal status just so she could marry her college sweetheart Kei Komuro. The two met in 2012 while studying at the International Christian University in Tokyo. As per Japanese laws, female royals lose their special privileges if they marry commoners. Despite knowing this, the former princess took the leap and went with her heart.
The stunning and beloved royal Queen Rania of Jordan was working as a marketing executive at Apple when she met the then-prince of Jordan in 1992 at a dinner party. The two got married in a royal wedding ceremony that is still talked about to date and went on to have four children.
Who doesn’t know the controversy-filled life and story of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? What started from a blind date in 2016 evolved into one of the most heartwarming love stories of the modern century. Their fairytale wedding in 2018 won hearts all across the world, leaving nobody surprised when Harry chose his wife’s mental health over his privilege and duty as a member of the British royal family.
Prince Felipe VI met Spanish journalist Letizia Rocasolano in 2002 and the two promptly fell in love with each other. They secretly dated for years before finally announcing their engagement to the public. Felipe became King in 2014 after his father abdicated the throne, establishing Letizia as the Queen of Spain.
The then crown prince of Denmark Frederik met and fell in love with public relations expert Mary Donaldson in a non-descript bar in Sydney while attending the Summer Olympics in 2000. Reportedly, the prince had kept his royal identity a secret from Mary in the initial stages of their meeting, only making their romance novel-esque love story all the more special.
Inarguably one of the most famous and iconic royals in history, Grace Kelly was a renowned Hollywood actress before she married Prince Rainer III of Monaco. Their love story began when the prince met the actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955. The romantic royal pursued the actress as she shot around the world and wooed her through love letters till she agreed to marry him.
The crown princess of Sweden married personal trainer and gym owner Daniel Westling in 2010. Their lavish wedding was described at the time as “Europe’s biggest royal wedding since the Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981”.
The Swedish royal met model and reality TV contestant Sofia Hellqvist in 2010 when they were eating at the same restaurant and found out that they had mutual friends. The two got married in 2015 and continue to inspire romantics with their declarations of love and support for each other.
Norway’s crown prince Haakon’s love story with former waitress and single mother Mette-Marit seems straight out of a fairytale or a cheesy Hallmark movie. The two were introduced by common friends in 1999 at a garden party during the Quart Festival, Norway’s largest rock event. Their different backgrounds caused people to dub her as modern-day Cinderella and, unsurprisingly, caused controversy at the time. The two ignored the haters and even broke royal tradition by walking down the aisle together.
Salva Mubarak is the Digital Editor of Manifest. In her free time, she likes to read murder mysteries, discover new KitKat flavours, and rank movie makeovers (not necessarily in that order). View Profile
