The institution of the monarchy in Great Britain is called an "anachronism", "financial burden"and "an insult to the very idea of ​​democracy", but even the most ardent critics can't help but get caught up in the hype when it comes to weddings in royal family. On Saturday, May 19, the wedding of 33-year-old Prince Harry and his 36-year-old bride Meghan Markle took place, whose romance lasted a year and a half. TASS tells what is unusual about the choice of the most eligible bachelor in Great Britain, who Meghan Markle is and why she still won’t become a princess.

Cinderella story

Historically, there has been a stereotype according to which princes take only girls of aristocratic origin as wives. The wedding of a member of the royal family and a “commoner” is always the subject of discussion and evokes associations with the story of Cinderella. This is, for example, the name given to Kate Middleton, a girl with “proletarian” roots who was able to win the heart of Prince William. However, Kate's parents were millionaires, and she herself impeccably fit the image of a princess: from her ideal British appearance to an elite education and almost zero professional resume.

The American origin of the actress, the color of her skin and the fact that she is divorced (from 2011 to 2013 Markle was the wife of film director Trevor Engelson, whom she dated since 2004), began to be savored by the British tabloids. The Daily Mail wrote that Harry "might marry a gangster queen - his new love from the crime-ridden area of ​​Los Angeles." Members of the royal family, as a rule, do not marry divorced women (in last time this happened 81 years ago), so the media actively speculated on whether Queen Elizabeth II would give consent to this union.

In November 2016, Prince Harry released a statement through Kensington Palace saying that "his friend Meghan Markle has been subjected to a wave of abuse and bullying." “Some of which were very public: slander on the front pages of national publications, openly sexist and racist attacks on social networks and in comments to newspaper articles,” the prince said. After this appeal, the flow of negative publications in the media practically disappeared.

Princess or Duchess?

Clarence House Chancery - Residences crown prince Charles - announced the engagement of Harry and Meghan on November 27, 2017. The prince proposed to the actress a few weeks before the official announcement, in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, where his apartment is located. This happened quiet evening, when, according to Harry, he and Meghan were preparing dinner. "We were trying to fry chicken, and suddenly an amazing surprise followed. It was so sweet, so natural and very romantic," Markle said. According to her, Harry got down on one knee and proposed to her.

According to Megan, she was received very warmly by the entire royal family. She said that she had already met Elizabeth II a couple of times and called the queen an “incredible woman.” She also said that after meeting her chosen one’s grandmother, she immediately became a fan of Welsh Corgi dogs, with whom the Queen of Great Britain traditionally spends her time.

However, a warm welcome from the queen does not mean that Meghan will receive princess status. According to the rules of the British royal family, you can only become a member of the royal blood by birth, and not through marriage. The title of Harry's late mother and the first wife of Prince Charles of Wales - Princess Diana - was unofficial: that's what the press called her, but the royal family itself did not give Diana a similar status.

After the wedding, the newlyweds received the titles Duke and Duchess of Sussex from the Queen. “Prince Harry thus becomes His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, after their wedding, will become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex,” the decree reads. Earlier, Elizabeth II awarded the title of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Harry's elder brother, second in line to the British throne, Prince William, and his wife Catherine (Kate).

Before the wedding, Meghan, a Protestant who also studied at a Catholic school, underwent baptism and confirmation rites in order to be ready for a religious wedding ceremony in the traditions of the Church of England. The actress also intends to become a British subject. The residence of the Queen of Great Britain assured that the procedure for granting citizenship to an American woman will be carried out on a general basis. This usually takes about five years, clarifies the TMZ portal. According to him, this circumstance will not interfere with the wedding of the queen’s grandson and the American actress.

The question remains whether Markle will continue her career as an actress after marriage. It is already known that she will stop filming Suits. According to The Sun, Meghan Markle was considered for the role of 007 James Bond's girlfriend - she fully met the requirements of the producers, as they were looking for a "charming rising star, preferably from the USA or Canada." Markle was one of five contenders for the role of the superspy's companion, but after the public learned about her relationship with a member of the royal family, she was excluded from the list.

Wedding of the century

The wedding ceremony began on May 19 at noon British time (15:00 Moscow time) in Windsor's St. George's Chapel, which the royal family considers their home church. It was attended by the entire royal family, led by the monarch, Megan's mother Doria Ragland, as well as invited persons. The father was unable to take part in the ceremony due to heart surgery. And Harry's nephews, the young children of his older brother William, Princes George and Princess Charlotte, were entrusted with the functions of page boy and bridesmaid.

The wedding ceremony was performed by the spiritual head of the Church of England (its formal head is the Queen), Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. At the same time, he only directly married the spouses, and the actual service in the chapel, within which the wedding took place, was conducted by the rector of this temple, David Corner. After this, the newlyweds made a carriage ride through Windsor and held two receptions: in St. George's Chapel itself and at Windsor Castle, where they hosted a dinner for the newlyweds and their closest friends.

Harry and Meghan refused gifts, calling on everyone to spend the money they had prepared for charity. The wedding was paid for from royal family funds, including the wedding ceremony, musical arrangement, organizing receptions and supplying flowers. And the costs of providing security during this event fell on the shoulders of taxpayers.

According to consulting company Brand Finance, this event should bring at least £500 million ($680 million) to the UK economy. Experts stated that in order to witness Harry’s wedding scheduled for May, at least 350 thousand additional tourists would arrive in the UK compared to the same month of the previous year. The same increase in tourist flow was observed during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Harry and Meghan invited 2,640 people to their wedding, 600 of whom were present at the wedding in St. George's Chapel. In particular, singer Elton John, actors Tom Hardy, George Clooney and his wife Amal, American tennis player Serena Williams, former captain England national football team David Beckham with his wife Victoria, Bollywood actress, winner of the Miss World 2000 title Priyanka Chopra, former British Prime Minister John Major.

Current Prime Minister Theresa May was not invited to the ceremony. Barack and Michelle Obama, with whom Harry is on friendly terms, were not present. Current President USA Donald Trump was also not included in the invitation list. During the US presidential campaign, Markle supported the main rival of the current occupant of the White House, Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, and at the same time called Trump himself a misogynist and a person who sows discord. Nevertheless, the president called Harry and Meghan a wonderful couple and wished them happiness.

Arthur Gromov

Once the most eligible bachelor Britannia, heir royal title Prince Harry, it would seem, is the embodiment of the dreams of all girls in the world. He is very attractive, athletic, brave, he has tall, incredibly red hair and a wide snow-white smile. What a charm youngest child in the family, the most spoiled of all, always gave his image a certain playfulness and attractiveness.

But the coin has two sides; Prince Harry managed to mess things up during his turbulent youth, becoming a participant and initiator of several serious scandals. And for a long time he didn’t have a good time in love - his beloved girls ran away, unable to withstand the onslaught of demands for the crown prince’s potential life partner. Will the prince's new relationship with a little-known American actress in Britain turn into something serious, or will everything remain the whirlwind romance of 2016 - that's what people around the world are gossiping about.

Harry is the fifth heir to the throne, the second son of the royal family. Harry's mom and dad, Prince Charles, doted on their youngest, mischievous son. As a child, Harry was naughty but charming. Like his older brother, Harry did not receive an individual education, but went to a London school with ordinary children of non-royal blood.

It was a real royal ceremony, which was watched all over the world, so the entire process and actions of the participants were clearly calculated and distributed in minutes. Chelsea could not withstand such intense pressure, although she carried herself with dignity. After the wedding, she admitted that she was not ready to live her whole life under such close attention, so she fled from England to Africa to live with her father and broke off her relationship with Harry.

Poor Harry had no choice but to accept the girl’s decision - he himself could not follow her to the other side of the world, abandoning the responsibility and obligations imposed on him by his origin.

After Chelsea, the prince had a long downtime love front, he could not find a worthy chosen one. He had models, aristocrats, and singers. At one moment he fell in love - the object of his adoration became famous actress. The girl was flattered by the attention shown by the prince, but their fleeting romance did not lead to anything serious.

In 2016, Harry begins a relationship with an American actress who stars in popular television series. They kept their budding relationship a secret for a long time; the affair became officially known only in the fall of 2016. At the end of the year, journalists finally captured the couple together - photos of Meghan and Harry walking hand in hand through central London spread all over the world.

According to representatives of the couple, they highly value the opportunity to lead their personal life in a private, almost secret manner, but they do not want to hide from the press and are not at all opposed to sometimes appearing together in public. Needless to say, the whole world is watching this royal romance.

At the beginning of 2017, rumors appeared that things were very serious with the couple. It is quite possible that the dream of millions of girls will soon change their bachelor status and get married. Harry has already begun to introduce Meghan to family members, the first being his brother’s wife Kate - she is very close to Harry, and he often listens to her opinion. The Duchess liked Meghan and the meeting was cordial.

Of course, the most difficult thing for Markle is still ahead - Harry's grandmother, current queen Britain, judging by rumors, is not very happy with the choice youngest grandson. She still believes that for the sake of the crown, all heirs of the royal family should marry their own kind, and not according to the call of their hearts. But times are changing, and a new generation of British heirs to the throne are ready to do anything to marry for love.

Prince Harry now

Many people remember that Prince William and Kate Middleton got engaged in secret from the public. Harry and Meghan still turned out to be less secretive. On November 27 it became known that.

On May 19, 2018 it took place. The ceremony was attended by members of the royal family, famous personalities And ordinary people. Prince Charles himself led Markle to the altar, since the girl’s father could not come.

Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In October 2018 it became known that. Prince Harry's first child will arrive in the spring of 2019.

On Monday, November 27, his mulatto girlfriend Meghan Markle, known for her role as Rachel Zane in the TV series Suits, was officially engaged. Their story is reminiscent of a classic English novel: there is platonic love before meeting, public condemnation, intrigue, and mysteries. And, of course, a fatal lady with a foggy past, who actually turned out to be a very virtuous person. I figured out who this Meghan Markle was and what she and Harry had to overcome on the way to their “happily ever after.”

IN famous novel John Fowles' "The French Lieutenant's Woman" has two equal and contradictory endings, and the novel by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has two similar beginnings. Some sources claim that they first met in 2016 in Toronto, where Meghan lived and worked, and Prince Harry was passing through there. He advertised in Canada his project “Games of the Invincibles” - an international competition for former and active military personnel who have become disabled. Others say that Harry allegedly asked their mutual friend Marcus Anderson to arrange a meeting for them when Meghan came to London in 2016 to watch a game at Wimbledon.

However, this is not so important, because according to royal expert Katie Nicholl, Prince Harry, as befits a hero classic novel, fell in love with Megan long before they met. IN documentary film“When Harry met Meghan: royal romance“Katie says that the young man was crazy about the actress two years before meeting her. Allegedly, a friend asked Harry who was for him perfect girl. And he, without hesitation, replied: “Meghan Markle from Suits.”

English Prince's Woman

Prince Harry's chosen one was born in Los Angeles on August 4, 1981 into a mixed family (her mother is African-American). Recent years lived in Toronto, where she starred in one of the main roles - lawyer Rachel Zane - in the TV series Suits.

It’s unlikely that the girl herself knew about it, but she future husband is a very distant relative on her father's side. One of Markle's ancestors turned out to be the high sheriff of County Durham, Ralph Bowes, who lived in the 15th century. Bose's granddaughter married and took the surname Hussey. Her grandson Christopher Hussey went to America and founded Nantucket. The prince's girlfriend is his direct paternal descendant. Bose's grandson remained in England and became a member of Parliament. His daughter married John Lyon, Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, in 1767. Five generations later, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became the wife of King George VI. Her eldest daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, still rules Britain, and Prince Harry is her grandson.

In 2011, she married producer Trevor Engelson: before that, they had been dating for seven years. Two years later they divorced. The media occasionally reported on her affairs: either with a golfer or with a chef. However, by the time of her fateful meeting with Harry, she lived only with her dogs: Bogart and Guy.

Unlike Prince Harry, she did not know her betrothed in advance, but admitted that he definitely should not be a sarcastic gossip. According to her, she does not consider those who speak evil of others behind their backs to be men. Megan is quite old-fashioned, she admitted that she really loves paper letters: “If at the end of the day a guy writes a letter to a girl, even if it turns out to be like a doctor’s prescription, he takes the time to take a pen and paper rather than typing something , - it’s very romantic and beautiful.” Well, she must have liked the manners that reign in the London palaces.

Moreover, for the sake of them she will have to say goodbye to her relatively successful acting career. She starred not only in Suits, although this is her most famous role, but also on the big screen in the films Remember Me and Horrible Bosses. A couple of years ago, she could not have imagined such a turn of events: “I never wanted to be a “lady who goes to lunch.” I always wanted to be a woman who works." And yet, at least royal house abandoned many conventions, a working actress is too much for the prim Windsors.

Like Princess Diana, dearly loved by the British, Megan is actively involved in charity: she collaborates with and. In 2015, she gave such a fiery speech about gender equality on International Women's Day that she received a standing ovation herself. general secretary UN. Meghan appointed as global ambassador World organization Vision Canada, she has traveled to Rwanda and India on charity missions.

Obstacles on the path to happiness

Prince Harry, like a true gentleman, took care of privacy: journalists found out that the young people were dating only six months later. But for the sake of dating, they had to cross the Atlantic. On November 9, 2016, Harry officially announced his relationship with Meghan. This is how he responded to the barrage of critical publications addressed to his girlfriend. Particularly prim British people were outraged that Megan starred in bed scenes series. The Mirror even calculated that the revealing fragment, in which Megan's character is dressed only in black lace lingerie, was viewed more than 40 thousand times on one of the adult resources. Prince Harry asked the media and users social networks stop insulting a girl for the color of her skin and profession. After that, everyone realized that this was a serious matter.

Negative publications in the media almost stopped, but Megan began to receive anonymous threats. The brave girl, in an interview with British journalists, calmly stated that she was no stranger to threats: even while working on the series, she became an object of hatred from fans for a rather absurd reason: her character in the story cheated on her lover. “I didn’t even know that there were so many symbols depicting pistols and knives,” the artist was surprised.

Had to endure attacks from sister Samantha. The mother-of-three, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008, has been making angry comments to the British media. According to her, there is no point in envying the royal family, because Meghan is “empty, narcissistic and obsessed with success.” According to Samantha, her sister always dreamed of becoming a princess and preferred Prince Harry because she likes redheads. However, “Meghan is not behaving at all like a person of royal blood, so Prince Harry’s family will be dumbfounded,” she concluded.

Everything secret becomes clear

In the fall of 2017, Megan and Harry gave the British media many reasons for speculation about their engagement. October turned out to be especially rich in this, when the actress unexpectedly left the series “Force Majeure”. It is symbolic that in the last episode, her heroine Rachel finally married her old love - the main character Mike Ross. Her photographs in wedding dress graced the covers of several British tabloids, eagerly awaiting Meghan to try on wedding dress and in real life.

Frame: TV series “Suits”

Body double and stylist for actress Nicky Bursic in one of her posts I said a very warm goodbye to my colleague, using the mysterious hashtag #youdeserveitall (“you deserve all this”). The tabloids immediately decided that they were talking about an imminent wedding with Prince Harry. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that Niki deleted the scandalous hashtag after a flood of publications.

The final chord is Megan's move to the UK. Moreover, she did not arrive alone, but together with her beloved dogs Bogart and Guy, whom she had adopted from a shelter. Everything seems too obvious, and on November 24, bookmakers stopped accepting bets on all issues related to the prince's wedding.

On November 27, 2017, Kensington Palace released official document. It says that "earlier in November" Prince Harry proposed to his girlfriend, informing royal family and receiving the blessing of Megan's parents. The wedding will take place in the spring of 2018. Bookmakers are betting that the couple will marry in May, as Prince William's third child is due in April.

He is a British prince, she is an actress from the USA, the star of a television series. Before they met, their lives were very different. Harry had a difficult childhood at court, the tragic loss of his mother, and military service in Afghanistan.

Megan was born into an interracial family (her mother is African-American), began her career under the influence of her father, a lighting operator, lived for two years in a marriage with director Trevor Engelson and became popular, receiving a role in the TV series Suits. Harry also had a serious relationship, but all the potential brides ran away from the prince. TV presenter Natalie Pinkham, childhood love Chelsea Davy, journalist Caroline Flack, singer Mollie King, models Florence Brundell-Bruce and Cressida Bonet... Even actress Emma Watson did not accept the heir's courtship. The girls were frightened by the prospect of becoming a princess and living according to the rules of royal protocol.

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Without long courtship

Harry, 33, met Meghan Markle, 36, in June 2016 at friendly party and just a week after meeting, he invited the actress to go with him to Botswana, where the prince had charity events. Harry quickly decided on his intentions, but proposing was not a problem. But getting the blessing of my grandmother, the reigning Queen of Great Britain, is much more difficult.

Against the Queen's will

Of course, Elizabeth II did not approve of her grandson's choice. A commoner from another country, divorced, Catholic and older than the groom - unthinkable! For a long time the issue of the engagement was in limbo, because the queen’s word is law. But Megan was not one of the weak. If the prince’s previous girlfriends gave up under the pressure of journalists and the gaze of the queen, then Miss Markle began the struggle for happiness. Harry and Meghan turned a blind eye to the queen's ban and continued to appear in public together. Parting was out of the question.

The bride is not an ordinary one

Megan is mixed race. Her mother is African American, and her father is of Dutch and Irish descent. Prince Harry commissioned ancestry researcher Gary Boyd Roberts to study Meghan's paternal ancestors. Roberts reached the 17th generation in the pedigree of Megan's father and discovered that the actress and the prince are very, very distant relatives of each other, and Megan's father is a descendant of King Edward III of England!

Great victory for Megan

Elizabeth II surrendered. In October 2017, Her Majesty invited the couple to the palace for a tea party and discussed the details of Markle's possible admission into the royal family. The Queen immediately made it clear to the girl that if she marries her grandson, then with her career as an actress and Megan’s usual social life it will be over. Becoming the wife of a prince means constantly being under the gun of cameras, thinking through your every step, living strictly according to a schedule and following strict and sometimes strange rules. Markle accepted all the conditions, which earned her the queen's approval. The couple received consent to marry.

Elizabeth II gave her consent to the marriage, but the queen still will not come to her grandson’s wedding - these are the same strict and strange rules. After all, this will be Megan’s second marriage, and Elizabeth II, being the head of the Anglican Church, cannot attend such a wedding. The Queen also did not attend the wedding of her son, Prince Charles, to Camilla Parker Bowles. By the way, before the wedding, Megan will be baptized and join the Anglican Church.

Tili-tili-dough!

Almost immediately, Kensington Palace announced the engagement of the prince and the actress. But everything could not be so smooth. While the lovers spent time together and told reporters about how happy they were, the actress’s ex-husband decided to curb Megan’s happiness. Having learned that the ex-wife not only felt great after the divorce, but also found not just anyone but a prince to replace her ex, Trevor Engelson decided that this simply could not happen. But when he found out that Prince Harry and his ex-wife— however, he began to think of ways to put Megan in her place. The director couldn’t think of anything better than to make a film about his relationship with Megan and make fun of the fact that his missus left him for the prince. Engelson has taken this project seriously and intends to play the main character—himself. So far there has been no reaction to such a provocative act from ex-wife The director couldn't achieve it.

How to become a queen: Meghan Markle's method

Megan refused her ex-husband's money, won the favor of the royal family and entourage, and responded with dignity to the attacks of the press.

With her royal response to gossip and criticism, Meghan has earned the respect of Harry's brother, Crown Prince William, and his wife, Duchess Catherine. This was another victory for the lovers, because the opinion of his older brother always played a special role for Harry. And having received Kate's approval, Meghan enlisted the support of someone who had already gone through similar difficulties. After all, Kate Middleton is also a commoner who did not immediately come to court.

It cost Megan to install warm relations with Kate, as their subjects began to compare them. The girls are similar in type, but Kate has already firmly entered the framework of the royal style, and Megan is used to wearing bright makeup and dressing. But after the wedding, she, as a representative of the ruling family, will have to give up colored manicure, bright lipstick, and will need to dress discreetly and only in clothes from those brands that the stylists will select for her.

Prince Harry's chosen one is often called Cinderella. At first glance, this is true. Meghan Markle is an actress, the daughter of a lighting designer and a yoga trainer. However, if you dig deeper, the bride's pedigree reveals not only slaves, but also kings.

About 600 guests attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Palace. Royals, British aristocrats, celebrities and a black social worker from California. It was Doria Ragland, the only relative on the bride's side of the party. We tell you what you need to know about the mother of the chosen one of the sixth heir of the House of Windsor and her origins.

IN different sources There are different spellings - Ragland or Radlan. However, Meghan Markle herself called her mother Doria Ragland on social networks. The same spelling is used in the official twitter Kensington Palace.

Doria was born in California into the family of an antiques dealer. She was 23 when she married Thomas Markle, a descendant of British immigrants, who worked as a television lighting designer. In a 2015 Elle article, Meghan Markle wrote that her parents met while working on General Hospital. She believed that her father was attracted to Doria's "sweet eyes". The couple divorced in 1988, when Megan was six years old.

The girl grew up with her mother. Her father has two children from a previous marriage, Samantha Grant and Thomas Markle Jr. It was they who, before the wedding, spoke frankly to the tabloids about their half-sister and tried to ruin the wedding.

@marcusuntrell

Doria Ragland. Loving and beloved. Proud, beautiful, brave. Superwoman!
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Doria Ragland was a social worker at a mental health clinic in Los Angeles. Shortly before royal wedding she quit. US Weekly believes that Doria is planning to open her own business. Moreover, her daughter helped her get an education and, at the age of 61, defend her master’s degree at the University of Southern California.

Before the wedding, Doria flew to London and participated in organizing the celebration. By that time, she had known Prince Harry for a long time and well.

Her mother is amazing! - the red-haired prince admitted in an interview with the BBC.

Meghan Markle told reporters that her mother often faced racial prejudice. For example, black Doria was often mistaken for the nanny of a dark-skinned daughter, explains The Sun. This forced Meghan to learn to be vocal about her pride in her African-American heritage.

@TheStyleInside

Doria Ragland is now in my heart, so touching.
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Journalists from The Daily Mail have perhaps studied Meghan Markle's family more closely than anyone else. They found out that the great-great-great-grandmother of the Duchess of Sussex, a black woman named Mattie Turnipseed, was a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Her daughter Mattie received her freedom thanks to the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Mattie's granddaughter, Claudia, married tailor Jeremiah Ragland.

There were many children in their family, but only five managed to survive. Of these, two girls became the first in their family to receive higher education. And one of the boys moved to Los Angeles, where he had a son, Alvin, an antiques dealer and the father of Doria Ragland.

Journalists also found a document showing that Meghan Markle's great-grandfather, whose name was Joseph Betts, was enlisted in an Alabama colored regiment that fought against the Confederates in Civil War in the USA.

Two more of Meghan's paternal ancestors fought in the Civil War: Daniel Mangle and his son Thomas. They served in Lincoln's army and were in the unit to which the Confederate commander-in-chief, General Robert E. Lee, surrendered.

Meghan Markle's father's British-Irish ancestors in the United States were mostly farmers and teachers. However, American researcher Gary Boyd Roberts found that a direct line connects Thomas Markle with the English landowner Ralph Bowes. In the 15th century, Bowes was High Sheriff of County Durham. And his descendant, Christopher Hussey, moved to America.

Another descendant of Bowes remained in England and became a member of Parliament. His daughter married the Earl of Strathmore. Their great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter became the wife of King George VI. Their eldest daughter is the current Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II, the grandmother of Prince Harry.

Another study links Thomas Markle, Meghan Markle's father, to King Edward III of England from the Plantagenet dynasty. Genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts insists on this.

Edward III was the son of King Edward II and Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip IV of France. In Mel Gibson's blockbuster they were played by Peter Hanley and Sophie Marceau.

Isabella of France's father was from the Capetian family. One of his ancestors is Philip I, son of King Henry I and Anna Yaroslavna, daughter Prince of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise from the Rurik family.