The announcement of Prince Harry’s engagement to American actress Meghan Markle has sparked the attention of the media for more reasons than the typical royal family wedding plans. Prince Harry’s background involving smoking, partying and other issues from his youth have recently been exploited by the media upon his engagement to a divorced, biracial American actress. The Prince is breaking free from the royal expectations and will seal the deal on May 19.

Markle has been on the American drama series “Suits” since 2011 and has been in numerous other movies prior to the hit TV show. Recently, there has been some controversy regarding media outlets leaving out that Markle is black. A co-founder of a festival that celebrates black British women has told the media that the racism in Britain is “insidious.” Other sources and journalists, like Rachel Johnson, have said that Markle could help bring, “rich and exotic DNA” to the royal family.

On December 20, Prince Harry got promoted to the Captain of the Royal Marines after Prince Phillip retired after serving for 64 years. Prince Phillip, 96, announced his retirement a month after his 70 year wedding anniversary with Queen Elizabeth, 91. The royal couple, along with their relatives will all be at Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding in May at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The ceremony is predicted to be a more understated event, unlike Prince William and Kate Middleton’s extravagant wedding back in April of 2011.

Despite all the media controversies, the royal family has expressed their happiness for the couple. On the day of the engagement announcement, Prince Charles tweeted, “It’s marvelous”. Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton said, “We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.”