Before Meghan Markle: Princess Grace and six more Americans who gave birth to royal babies
Nearly a year after her wedding to Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan of Sussex gave birth to her first child. Buckingham Palace said the boy arrived early Monday morning, weighing 7 pounds and 3 ounces.
A statement said the family, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William, Duchess Kate and Harry's maternal aunts and uncle, have all been informed and "are delighted with the news."
The duchess, formerly known as Meghan Markle, was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her newborn son is now seventh in line for the throne, right behind his father, Harry. The child is also the first ever mixed-race baby born into the royal family.
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That said, Baby Sussex is not the first royal with an American mother. In fact, Meghan isn't even the first actress to give birth to a royal child. Meet the rest:
Rita Hayworth
The actress was best known for her roles in films like "Gilda" and "The Lady from Shanghai" in the 1940s. But in 1949, Rita Hayworth left Hollywood behind to marry Prince Aly Khan, son of the leader of Nizārī Ismaili Muslims. She met him a year prior at the Cannes Film Festival.
They had both been married before, Khan once before and Hayworth twice, most recently to Orson Welles in a marriage that lasted from 1943 to 1947.
She gave birth to a daughter at the end of 1949, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. Hayworth had previously given birth to another daughter fathered by Orson Welles. Her marriage to either child's father did not last.
Hayworth brought her daughter with her to Nevada to establish residency in order to qualify for a divorce, later saying there were threats against the child's life if the girl was not raised Muslim, according to a 1953 newspaper clipping. Hayworth said she wanted the child raised Christian.
The couple eventually divorced in 1953 but their daughter became her mother's caretaker as she suffered through Alzheimer's toward the end of her life.
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Grace Kelly
Another Hollywood actress left behind a successful career in the 1950s after appearing in films like "Rear Window" and "Dial M for Murder." Grace Kelly also met her future husband at the Cannes Film Festival.
After a year-long courtship, Kelly married Rainer III, Prince of Monaco in 1956. The wedding was televised to an audience of an estimated 30 million viewers, according to the book "Planet Wedding."
As Princess of Monaco, she gave birth to three children: Princess Caroline in 1957, Prince Albert in 1958 and Princess Stéphanie in 1965. Albert is the current reigning monarch of Monaco, the second-smallest country in the world after the Vatican.
Kelly died in 1982 in a car crash after suffering a stroke while driving with Stéphanie in the car. Her daughter survived the crash.
Caroline Lee Radziwill
The sister of First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Radziwill divorced another American, Michael Temple Canfield before marrying Polish Prince Stanisław Albrecht "Stash" Radziwiłł in 1959. The prince also divorced his second wife in order to wed the American socialite.
Her title became "Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Radziwill," and she gave birth to a boy, Anthony, in 1959 and a daughter, Anna Christina, in 1960. Neither made a career out of being a royal.
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Hope Cooke
Born in San Francisco, Hope Cooke traveled to India while a freshman at Sarah Lawrence College in 1959. There, she met Palden Thondup Namgyal, the Crown Prince of Sikhism. He had two children, was nearly twice her age, and a widower, but in 1963, the two wed.
The marriage required Cooke to renounce her U.S. citizenship. She became Queen of Sikhism, giving birth to two children, Prince Palden Gyurmed Namgyal and Princess Hope Leezum Namgyal. She was also a step-mother to her husband's other three children.
But political conflict with the nation of India ultimately led to the kingdom coming to an end in the 1970s. Cooke then traveled back to the U.S. with her two children, according to The New York Times. She was granted permanent residency in the U.S and later, divorced Mamgyal.
Lisa Halaby (Queen Noor)
Years after her grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Syria, Halaby returned to the Middle East in the 1970s, where she met Jordan's King Hussein bin Talal. The two married in 1978, the King's fourth and final marriage.
Halaby converted to Islam, taking the royal name Noor Al-Hussein. As queen, she was stepmother to three of the king's children and gave birth to four more in the royal line: Prince Hamzah (1980), Prince Hashim (1981) Princess Iman (1983) and Princess Raiyah (1986).
After King Hussein died from cancer in 1999, his son Abdullah II ascended to the throne. In 2004, he named his eldest son, Hussein bin Al Abdullah, to be his heir, replacing Noor's son Hamzah as crown prince.
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Kelly Rondestvedt
Born in Pensacola, Florida, investment banker Kelly Rondestvedt met Hubertus Michael in New York in 2007. Michael is the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German royal house.
British royals like Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were part of this house. Today, it's better known as the House of Windsor.
Rondestvedt received the title of Duchess of Saxony after her marriage to the prince in 2009.
She has since given birth to three children: Princess Katharina in 2013, Prince Philipp in 2015 and Princess Madeleine in 2017. The family currently resides in Germany.
Kendra Spears
Born in Seattle, Spears began a modeling career in 2008, landing campaigns with major brands like Prada. She married Prince Rahim Aga Khan in 2013.
Khan son of the leader is Nizārī Ismaili Muslims, Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, who at one time was the step-son of Rita Hayworth (see above).
With a royal name of Princess Sawa, Spears has given birth to two children: Prince Irfan Aga Khan in 2015 and Prince Sinan Aga Khan.
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Nate Chute is a producer with the USA Today Network. Follow him on Twitter at @nchute.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Before Meghan Markle: Princess Grace and six more Americans who gave birth to royal babies
