Meghan Markle is one of the first American women to marry into the Royal Family.
She is also the first person of mixed heritage to marry a royal, and is one of the oldest ever royal brides at age 36.
The actress goes by ‘Meghan’ but this is actually her second name. The LA-native’s real first name is Rachel.
Since she was recently baptised, has she adopted a new Christian name? What will Meghan be called after she is married?
Will she use her middle name Rachel? And will she be called Duchess Rachel or Meghan?
Royal expert Kelly Lynch and managing editor of Dailybreak revealed all to Express.co.uk.
What will Meghan Markle be called after her wedding to Prince Harry?
She said: “Since people know her now as ‘Meghan’, I would be shocked if she chose to go by her given name (Rachel).”
Meghan will be following in a precedent actually set by Prince Harry, who does not use his Christian name either.
“Prince Harry’s given name is Henry, but his parents established early on that he would go by Harry,” Kelly added.
It is widely expected that Prince Harry will be made a Duke when he married Meghan, just as Prince William was made the Duke of Cambridge. In this case Meghan would take on the female version her husband’s title.
However, she will not be known as ‘Duchess Meghan,” according to the royal expert.
“As far as ‘Duchess Meghan’ if Her Majesty does decide to grant this particular title to Harry and Meghan on their wedding day, it would be incorrect to refer to Meghan as “Duchess Meghan” thereafter,” Kelly added.
“Just as it is with ‘Duchess Catherine/Duchess Kate’, Meghan is not a blood royal and is therefore not technically entitled to have “Duchess” precede her name.
“The same went for Princess Diana (the correct way to refer to Diana would be ‘Princess of Wales’).”
But there is another reason that Meghan will probably not be referred to using her official title, and that is a more simple one.
Kelly said: “It’s easier to refer to these women as such since their names are in the press so often.
“It’s almost considered a nickname, but inaccurate nonetheless.
“I believe for SEO/Google search’s sake, people will refer to Harry’s future wife as ‘Meghan Markle’ for awhile, much like they did with ‘Kate Middleton’ in the first few years of her marriage to Prince William.”
As for whether Meghan will have a new Christian name after being baptised, this practise is not always used in baptism.
Parents have been advised to give their children’s names of Saints during baptisms, but they are not usually used as first names.
Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding be televised?
It is not known which channel the live wedding will be televised on.
Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding was shown live on BBC, CBS, Fox and Sky, thanks to a press pool.
