It’s a great moment to be an American royalist, or an American with a passing interest in royalty. Granted, the “Diana Years” were probably the best moment to be an American royalist, because Diana was – and still is – an extremely popular figure in the American media. The Duchess of Cambridge would love to have Diana’s base of support in America, as would Meghan Markle. Meghan will come into the royal family – at some point – with a “leg up” as an American actress too. She already has relationships with the Hollywood-PR-media complex and she knows how things are done. She’ll get more attention and sympathetic coverage in the American media simply because she’s American too.

But there is one thing I loathe about the American coverage of British royalty: most American gossip/celebrity news outlets don’t know what they’re f–king talking about when it comes to royal protocol and the actual rules which royal figures have to follow. Take this Us Weekly cover story, which blatantly makes up this idea that Prince Harry would be allowed to just go off and elope with Meghan Markle. No. That’s not done. Harry would not be allowed to do that.

Wearing a crown never appealed to Prince Harry. In his 20s, the young royal — now fifth in line to the British throne — dreamed of life as a commoner, he revealed in a June interview with UK’s Mail on Sunday. “I spent many years kicking my heels and I didn’t want to grow up,” admitted Harry. But affection for his beloved grandmother (he’s called Queen Elizabeth II “so remarkable”) and a desire to promote key causes — in 2006, he confounded Sentebale to help children affected by AIDS — made him stick it out. Explained Harry, “I felt I wanted out but then decided to stay in and work out a role.”

Now it seems he’s found a princess to serve at his side. For the past 13 months, the 32-year-old former Army helicopter pilot and actress Meghan Markle have built a love affair that’s the stuff of fairy tales. But the courtship hasn’t been without its stresses. The couple have endured 3,000-plus miles of distance — she films Suits in Toronto — and a sometimes harsh public glare. But now the duo are planning for a shared future and Harry’s even tossing out plans for a royal wedding. While the pair have the option of marrying at Westminster Abbey, where Prince William and Duchess Kate exchanged vows in 2011, Harry is envisioning a more far-flung locale, a source reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. He suggested to Markle, whose own 2011 nuptials to talent manager Trevor Engelson took place on a Jamaica beach, “that they could get married somewhere private and elope,” says the source, “rather than have a showy wedding.”

First, however, there must be a romantic proposal. While one insider says “my money is on a fall engagement,” the source says the royal could get down on bended knee as soon as August 4, Markle’s 36th birthday.

The proposal would be a gift to the actress and himself, explains the source. Noting that Harry generally feels down in August — the month his mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a 1997 car accident — the source says, “He feels getting engaged will lift that gloom forever because he will be able to associate August with something joyful.”

No matter the timing, the prince is ready to commit to forever with Markle. Says the source, “He wants to get married and have kids. He’s smitten.”

[From Us Weekly]

What’s the point of marrying an American actress if you’re not going to have a big, showy wedding? Obviously, if and when Harry proposes to Meghan, they will not go off to some beach and elope. The Queen will not allow it. The Church of England will not allow it either. The CoE even recently made a statement that they would be fine with a prince of the realm marrying an American divorcee, meaning that’s what the church is preparing for. That’s what the Queen is preparing for too. And the Queen knows that nothing gives The Firm a big PR boost like a big, splashy royal wedding. Harry and Meghan will probably be married at Westminster, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and everything will be very stuffy and formal. Harry will hate it, but those are the rules.

Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Us Weekly.