Meghan Markle: Citizenship and Religious Conversion


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This thread can be used to discuss Meghan Markle's citizenship and religious conversion.

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I have my answer regarding Meghan's citizenship. She WILL become a British citizen giving up her American citizenship and WILL convert to the Church of England. I thought that would be the case. :flowers:
 
That's a swift fast track to UK citizenship, but it's all good.
 
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I have my answer regarding Meghan's citizenship. She WILL become a British citizen giving up her American citizenship and WILL convert to the Church of England. I thought that would be the case. :flowers:

She's not giving up her American citizenship--she plans to have dual citizenship.
 
That's a swift fast track to UK citizenship, but it's all good.

I think it said she'll become UK citizen in due course? Which I took to mean she'll take the route all other immigrants have to. Also, Roya Nikkhah reported it'll be a charity fair and a visit to Nottingham Academy, so I guess we are really getting two?

She's not giving up her American citizenship--she plans to have dual citizenship.

There are conflicting reports on this at this point.
 
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According to CNN no decision has been made to whether Meghan will keep her US citizenship. So the first step is to apply for British citizenship and afterwards she could eventually decide/be advised to give up her American citizenship.

A spokesman said Markle would retain US citizenship through the process of becoming a UK citizen but it was "too early to say" if she would retain dual nationality. The process is expected to take several years.

I don't see how she would be able NOT to retain US citizenship throughout the process. She can hardly be expected to have no nationality for a while.
 
She's not giving up her American citizenship--she plans to have dual citizenship.

According to what I read, it isn't clear if she will maintain her American Citizenship after she goes through the lengthy process of becoming a British Citizen. Certainly while she is going through it, she will remain an American citizen. Did you find something that stated otherwise?

There are conflicting reports on this at this point.

Yes, what I am seeing as well...
 
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Meghan was never baptized? That must be a first for a Royal fiancee marrying into a European House. To be married in the CoE one must be both baptized and Confirmed, just like in the Catholic faith since marriage is considered a Sacrament.
 
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Meghan was never baptized? That must be a first for a Royal fiancee marrying into a European House. To be married in the CoE one must be both baptized and Confirmed, just like in the Catholic faith since marriage is considered a Sacrament.

Anyway, I am thrilled that it will be a St. George's as I always knew it would. I have a sentimental weak spot for the jewel of a church.;)

It doesn't sound like she had a religious upbringing really. Her parents (according to Rebecca English I think) are both Protestant. But lots of folks don't practice their Faith.


LaRae
 
I got a giggle out of this tweet from Tom Wells regarding Meghan taking the British citizenship test.


One of the standard citizenship test questions facing Meghan Markle asks where the wife of another rather famous royal called Henry got her head chopped off. Good sense of humour, our civil servants.
 
According to what I read, it isn't clear if she will maintain her American Citizenship after she goes through the lengthy process of becoming a British Citizen. Certainly while she is going through it, she will remain an American citizen. Did you find something that stated otherwise?

I'm not even sure now where I read it--and more than half of what is being or has been reported isn't even accurate--the press track record on this romance isn't very good:whistling:

I guess unless it is in a statement from KP, CH or BP or directly comes from Harry, Meghan or an official representative we don't know for sure.
 
I'm not even sure now where I read it--and more than half of what is being or has been reported isn't even accurate--the press track record on this romance isn't very good:whistling:

I guess unless it is in a statement from KP, CH or BP or directly comes from Harry, Meghan or an official representative we don't know for sure.

Ha! So true! I am sure we will get more information as time goes on. It's been quite some time since an American has married into the RF, so it makes sense there are questions as to how all this works.
 
I'm not even sure now where I read it--and more than half of what is being or has been reported isn't even accurate--the press track record on this romance isn't very good:whistling:

I guess unless it is in a statement from KP, CH or BP or directly comes from Harry, Meghan or an official representative we don't know for sure.

It's confusing, because these royal reporters were tweeting this amongst all the info KP just released released in their statement. So I assumed it was within the info released by KP.
 
That's not normally a requirement. https://www.yourchurchwedding.org/article/im-not-christened-can-i-have-a-church-wedding/

"You are not required to have been baptised at a christening, or be a regular churchgoer, to have a church wedding."

The link to that site seems to be for a Protestant or CoE wedding, so I stand corrected about that particular faith.

But I have never heard of a Roman Catholic wedding between an unbaptized bride and groom, even though it's true that you do not need to be a regular churchgoer. You are required to go through a series of preparatory pre-wedding classes however.

Anyway my original point was not that it's not allowed in the CoE, only that this situation (an unbaptized fiancee) is unique in Royal Europe.
 
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Meghan was never baptized? That must be a first for a Royal fiancee marrying into a European House. To be married in the CoE one must be both baptized and Confirmed, just like in the Catholic faith since marriage is considered a Sacrament.

Anyway, I am thrilled that it will be a St. George's as I always knew it would. I have a sentimental weak spot for the jewel of a church.;)

Small but important correction: marriage is not a sacrament in the Anglican Church, like other protestant churches the Anglican church only acknowledges two sacraments: Baptism and Communion (also known as the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper).

It is indeed uncommon for a future royal bride not to be baptized (it also comfirms that religion isn't really important to Harry) but I don't think she is a first. Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein married the Turkish Tilsim Tanberk; whom I expect to be a muslim.
 
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Small but important correction: marriage is not a sacrament in the Anglican Church, like other protestant churches the Anglican church only acknowledges two sacraments: Baptism and Communion (also known as the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper).

It is indeed uncommon for a future royal bride not to be baptized (it also comfirms that religion isn't really important to Harry) but I don't think she is a first. Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein married the Turkish Tilsim Tanberk; whom I expect to be a muslim.

As for Princess Tilsin; she converted to Christianity before the wedding.
 
I am surprised to hear she will be baptized prior to the wedding. Mainstream Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, recognize baptisms performed at other churches provided that they follow the correct Trinitarian formula. Therefore, if someone is baptized for example in an Anglican church, or in a Lutheran church, or even in a Presbyterian church and then converts to Catholicism, the Catholic Church will not baptize him/her again. I am not Anglican, but I would assume the same must be true in the CoE. Therefore, if Meghan is to be baptized, the speculation in the forum that she was never baptized , and therefore never received before in any Christian church, proved to be true after all.
 
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I am surprised to hear she will be baptized prior to the wedding. Mainstream Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, recognize baptisms performed at other churches provided that they follow the correct Trinitarian formula. Therefore, if someone is baptized for example in an Anglican church, or in a Lutheran church, or even in a Presbyterian church and then converts to Catholicism, the Catholic Church will not baptize him/her again. I am not Anglican, but I would assume the same must be true in the CoE. Therefore, if Meghan is to be baptized, the speculation in the forum that she was never baptized , and therefore never received before in any Christian church, proved to be true after all.
No if she was baptised n a Christian denomination she wuodl not have to be baptised again... Presumably she wasn't ever baptised...
 
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No if she was baptised n a Christian denomination she wuodl not have to be baptised again... Presumably she wasn't ever baptised...

Being baptized as an adult is a big deal that should not be taken lightly, or as a mere formality. I hope Meghan gets the necessary preparation as a catechumen and does so out of conviction and on her own free will.

EDIT: As mentioned in the Wikipedia article I linked above, in the Catholic church at least, catechumens are usually baptized at Easter. I don't know the Anglican custom, but could that also be the case for Meghan ?
 
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Small but important correction: marriage is not a sacrament in the Anglican Church, like other protestant churches the Anglican church only acknowledges two sacraments: Baptism and Communion (also known as the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper).

It is indeed uncommon for a future royal bride not to be baptized (it also comfirms that religion isn't really important to Harry) but I don't think she is a first. Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein married the Turkish Tilsim Tanberk; whom I expect to be a muslim.


Thank you for that information, both about the sacraments of the Anglican Church and about Prince Rudolf of Lichtenstein.;)
 
Meghan was never baptized? That must be a first for a Royal fiancee marrying into a European House. To be married in the CoE one must be both baptized and Confirmed, just like in the Catholic faith since marriage is considered a Sacrament.



Anyway, I am thrilled that it will be a St. George's as I always knew it would. I have a sentimental weak spot for the jewel of a church.;)



No you don't I was married in 2012 at a COE church and my husband is neither christened or confirmed and he was a divorcee too. I was christened and confirmed which was enough for the priest.
 
Lemon Lyman-

Perhaps you missed it, but my comment was more an observation about a ROYAL non baptized fiancee. I admitted to being incorrect about Anglican doctrine/policy which as a Catholic I am less than familiar with.

As most people know, it's a lot more complicated for a divorcee to marry within the RCC than the CoE, and as for a non baptized person it's even messier.

In fact it simply cannot be done if one of the party is not Catholic.
 
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As for Princess Tilsin; she converted to Christianity before the wedding.

Thanks for that piece of information! That confirms that she wasn't brought up a Christian - so wasn't baptized earlier on (like Meghan; as that was the original question) but converted before the wedding (again, just like Meghan will do).
 
According to CNN no decision has been made to whether Meghan will keep her US citizenship. So the first step is to apply for British citizenship and afterwards she could eventually decide/be advised to give up her American citizenship.



I don't see how she would be able NOT to retain US citizenship throughout the process. She can hardly be expected to have no nationality for a while.

It probably has to do with taxes. Being a US citizen requires you to pay taxes to your home country even If you don't work there. As a member of the royal family, she "earns" or is given an allowance (once they're married) and it's probably taxable in the US. Someone correct me here because I don't quite know the rules of that tax thingy. I vaguely remember a convo with an expat friend that lived in Canada and worked as an engineer and had to pay taxes to the US as well as Revenue Canada.
 
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It probably has to do with taxes. Being a US citizen requires you to pay taxes to your home country even If you don't work there. As a member of the royal family, she "earns" or is given an allowance and it's probably taxable in the US. Someone correct me here because I don't quite know the rules of that tax thingy. I vaguely remember a convo with an expat friend that lived in Canada and worked as an engineer and had to pay taxes to the US as well as Revenue Canada.

It will take at least 5 years for Meghan to obtain UK citizenship. Her parents are American! I am sure they would object to her giving up her US citizenship, a place where she was born and raised! It is not right to expect that of her! Meghan says she's proud of who she is and where she comes from, well, the US is a part of that.

What's next? Her Mom and Daddy will now move to the UK, and stop celebrating American holidays etc. Part of what makes Meghan unique is that she is American Born.

Emily Andrews posted on Twitter, "Meghan will become dual citizen of the US and the UK."

And that is the way it should be.
 
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It will take at least 5 years for Meghan to obtain UK citizenship. Her parents are American! I am sure they would object to her giving up her US citizenship, a place where she was born and raised! It is not right to expect that of her! Meghan says she's proud of who she is and where she comes from, well, the US is a part of that.

What's next? Her Mom and Daddy will now move to the UK, and stop celebrating American holidays etc. Part of what makes Meghan unique is that she is American Born.

I wasn't advocating she lose/give up her US Citizenship, I was just saying it's probably a tax thing nothing more. Giving up her citizenship is purely her call. I don't think anyone is asking her to do so.
 
It will take at least 5 years for Meghan to obtain UK citizenship. Her parents are American! I am sure they would object to her giving up her US citizenship, a place where she was born and raised! It is not right to expect that of her! Meghan says she's proud of who she is and where she comes from, well, the US is a part of that.

What's next? Her Mom and Daddy will now move to the UK, and stop celebrating American holidays etc. Part of what makes Meghan unique is that she is American Born.

Emily Andrews posted on Twitter, "Meghan will become dual citizen of the US and the UK."

And that is the way it should be.

It has nothing to do with giving up cultural identity. Speaking as an immigrant, I gave up my citizenship of birth when I became a US citizen. I still celebrate the holidays, but my life is here now and that's what makes the most sense. It's stupid to be paying out and creating all kinds of tax headaches just simply to hold on a piece of paper. We have to remember that it won't just be her. With shared income between spouses, this could create headache and potential tax liability on Harry as well once they become a married couple. A lot of ex-pats are actually turning in their US passports because of the tax issue. It has nothing to do with her parents moving to UK or not either.

And actually, there has been conflicting reporting all day from the royal correspondence due to their interpretation during the briefing. New York Times reached out to KP and the statement they got is that she will remain US citizen during the process of obtaining her UK citizenship. No comment on whether she will be renouncing her US citizenship once that's done. Several royal correspondence have also clarified later that no decision regarding her US citizenship has been made on she becomes UK citizen.
 
It has nothing to do with giving up cultural identity. Speaking as an immigrant, I gave up my citizenship of birth when I became a US citizen. I still celebrate the holidays, but my life is here now and that's what makes the most sense. It's stupid to be paying out and creating all kinds of tax headaches just simply to hold on a piece of paper. We have to remember that it won't just be her. With shared income between spouses, this could create headache and potential tax liability on Harry as well once they become a married couple. A lot of ex-pats are actually turning in their US passports because of the tax issue. It has nothing to do with her parents moving to UK or not either.

And actually, there has been conflicting reporting all day from the royal correspondence due to their interpretation during the briefing. New York Times reached out to KP and the statement they got is that she will remain US citizen during the process of obtaining her UK citizenship. No comment on whether she will be renouncing her US citizenship once that's done. Several royal correspondence have also clarified later that no decision regarding her US citizenship has been made on she becomes UK citizen.

I was being sarcastic with the part about her parents. And that decision has everything to do with her parents! They brought her into this world! And they are Americans.
 
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