May 19 marked a memorable day in history. It was the royal wedding of Prince Harry and former American actress, now Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. Markle, born as Rachel Meghan Markle, tied the knot with Prince Harry after a year of dating. Millions of viewers put aside their time to watch the royal couple say their vows at the St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in front of 600 guests. Guests at the wedding included Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Amal Clooney, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Priyanka Chopra, Elton John, James, Idris Elba, and more. Before Prince Harry and Markle said their I do’s, let’s reminisce on their life before becoming the new royal couple.

Markle was born to an African American mom and Caucasian dad in Los Angeles, California, but they later divorced when Markle was only six. Growing up, she did encounter racism due to her physical appearance as a person of mixed race, but it did not stop her from receiving a strong education and pursing her love for acting. After laddering her way up as an actress, she finally got the lead role on USA’s hit series, Suits. Little did she know that her acting career would come to a closing and start a new chapter of her new life as Duchess of Sussex.

As for Prince Harry, he was born to royal parents, Prince Charles of Wales and the late Princess Diana of Wales. Although Prince Harry is the “bad boy” of the family and known for dating a range of women, his bachelor days came to an end once he met Markle. Both Prince Harry and Markle share a strong interest in humanitarian work, and if you’re wondering how they met, it was actually through a blind date set by a mutual friend. From the moment he saw her, he knew she would be a great fit to be his bride.

After a year of dating, he finally popped the question with a 3-carat cushion cut diamond ring made by court jewelers Cleave and Company with a diamond from Botswana and two smaller stones from Princess Diana’s collection. The world was moved with excitement once they announced their engagement on Monday, November 27, 2017. During the wedding planning, Markle unfortunately received some racist comments from the media and some of the negative backlash came from her own family members. Luckily, Prince Harry at the time came at defense for Markle and proved why his wife-to-be was the perfect addition to the royal family.

May 19 finally came and the world was in awe as they watched Markle walk down the aisle with Prince Charles in her gorgeous Givenchy dress accessorized with a 16.5-foot silk tulle veil with flowers representing all 53 countries of the Commonwealth veil, and Queen Mary diamond bandeau tiara. With their strong display of affection and love, the ceremony was filled with strong celebrations of the African American culture. That was shown through the Kingdom choir singing Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” and Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon on the power of love. After saying their vows and officially becoming husband and wife, the couple walked outside of the church with African cheers coming from the people patiently waiting to see the couple. This wedding allowed people to understand the changes being implemented to the royal family. That change was diversity, which was shown at the royal wedding, as an interracial couple, who were madly in love, went outside the standards, tied the knot in a ceremony filled with a strong cultural change.