Top 5 Americans Who Married Royalty

#5: Olivia Wilde

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It’s a little known fact, but well-known American actress Olivia Wilde married into the Italian Rupoli family when she was just a teenager. She married Prince Tao Ruspoli in 2003 and they were actually together for much of her early career, filing for divorce in 2011. This royal fairy tale doesn’t have a happy ending though, with Wilde saying that the relationship "stunted her growth” because she was so young when it began. She did find her own happily ever after, becoming engaged to Jason Sudeikis in 2013.

The British monarchy as we know it would not be the same if it wasn’t for this American socialite. Wallis Simpson had already been married twice when she met King Edward VIII, and her relationship with the king was the cause of a constitutional crisis. It was deemed unacceptable for Edward to marry a woman who was twice divorced, and ultimately Edward abdicated the throne, leaving the crown to his brother, George VI. George VI of course is the father to Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952.

#3: Meghan Markle

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While marrying an American divorcee was unacceptable for King Edward VIII, by today’s standards it’s not nearly so big of a deal. In the spring of 2018, American actress Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, becoming the Duchess of Sussex. And how did these two meet, do you ask? A blind date! Can you imagine being set up on a blind date and finding out that it’s with a Prince of England? Their wedding was watched by millions, and we can’t wait to see what these two will do next.

Rita Hayworth was one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the 1940s, but you may not know that she was briefly married into royalty. The actress was married a total of five times, and her third husband was Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan. In fact, she actually put a halt on her thriving career in order to marry him in 1949. Their marriage was not a happy one though, and just a few years later, Hayworth filed for divorce “on the grounds of extreme cruelty, entirely mental in nature."

Without a doubt the most well-known American woman to ever marry into royalty, Grace Kelly gave many little girls dreams of becoming princesses. In the 1950s, there was perhaps no actress more glamorous and admired than Grace Kelly. She appeared in many high profile films and even won an Oscar. Her career was cut short, however, when she married Prince Rainier III, making her Princess of Monaco. Sadly, Kelly died tragically when she was in her 50s after a stroke caused her to have a car accident.