By Sammie Jones-
Meghan Markle is to become a duchess once she gets married to Prince Harry today, Saturday. The Royal title comes after the Queen gave her grandson Prince Harry a dukedom for their wedding gift.
The title of Duke of Sussex was given hours before the ceremony on Saturday. It means Markle will automatically adopt the title Duchess of Sussex.
The announcement by Buckingham Palace read: “The Queen today has been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince Henry of Wales. His titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.
“Prince Harry thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, and Ms Meghan Markle on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.
Sussex was the bookies’ favourite for the sixth in line to the throne.
A dukedom is the highest title in the British peerage and a traditional wedding gift to senior male royals.
There has only been one previous Duke of Sussex: the eccentric Prince Augustus Frederick, the ninth child and sixth son of King George III. The title became vacant following Frederick’s death in 1843 because both of his marriages occurred without the king’s consent, rendering his two children technically illegitimate. Previously and later, Sussex was an earldom.
Crowds of well-wishers are expected at the all-important wedding, with a lot of global coverage accompanying the wedding.