Royal rules: What Meghan Markle is giving up to become a princess

An adoring public, a palace and a handsome prince - that's what the fairy tales say is on the cards when you become a princess.
But as US actress Meghan Markle prepares to go from Hollywood to Kensington Palace as the bride of Britain's Prince Harry, she faces the reality of what royal life means.
Markle spoke of starting a "new chapter" as she gives up her acting career in TV legal drama "Suits" to take on royal duties.
Being a British royal is a full-time job - the royal family are considered public servants and spend most of their time on charitable endeavours.
Markle has had experience in this field as a humanitarian advocate for UN Women and World Vision, but she will give up both of these roles too to take on duties in her official capacity.
Many observers are speculating that the 36-year-old will become the Duchess of Sussex, but she may still get the informal title of princess from the media and public - as Harry's hugely popular mother Diana did. The bride-to-be attended her first official ceremony with her future grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, in March.
Markle will become a patron for the Royal Foundation, the charity Prince Harry runs together with with brother, Prince William, and Kate Middleton. At a forum organized by the foundation, she signalled she could continue as an advocate for women's issues.
"You will often hear people say they are helping women find their voices," Markle said.
"And I fundamentally disagree with that because women don't need to find a voice, they have a voice.
They need to be empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen." But royal protocol dictates that Markle herself does in fact need to be careful with her own voice from now on.
Royals are expected to refrain from publicly expressing their political views - the queen has even been called "Elizabeth the silent" for her adeptness at consistently keeping her mouth shut.
In future, Markle would not be able to publicly back a political candidate, as she did with Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election.
And she will have to make sure she keeps quiet about how she feels about President Donald Trump, who she called "misogynistic" and "divisive" in a TV interview in 2016.
The royal couple-to-be reportedly faced a political dilemma over their wedding guest list, when the media speculated over whether Harry would invite ex-president Barack Obama.
The two developed a friendship after they met in 2015 and collaborated on the Invictus Games sports tournament, but inviting Barack and Michelle Obama and not inviting Trump would have been a huge diplomatic snub.
In the end, neither president was invited, and Prime Minister Theresa May was left off the list too, British media reported citing sources from Kensington Palace.
Markle's online presence will also be hemmed in as no senior royals have individual social-media accounts.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for Kensington Palace, Clarence House and the royal family take care of them as a group.
Markle started ditching her social-media presence shortly after the engagement; her Twitter and Instagram accounts have been wiped from the internet.
She also shut down The Tig, an aspirational lifestyle blog which showcased her showbiz life with celebrity interviews, reviews, and fashion and beauty tips.
It's true that Markle is making sacrifices, but the royal rules have relaxed significantly compared to in the past.
The fact that Markle is divorced makes many Britons recall what happened with Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee King Edward married in the 1930s. He was forced to choose someone else to wed or abdicate - so he gave up the throne.
While royal protocol may have eased, in their first interview after getting engaged, Harry admitted the couple still had to have "frank conversations" about what joining his family means.
"To say, look, you know what you're letting yourself in for ... It's not easy for anybody," he said in the interview with Hello magazine.
"But ... at the end of the day, she chooses me and I choose her and therefore you know whatever we have to tackle, together or individually, will always be us together as a team." Markle added,
"I think you realize once you have access or a voice that people are going to listen to, with that comes a lot of responsibility, which I take seriously."