How many times has Meghan Markle been legally married?
1. First legal marriage: Trevor Engelson (2011–2013/2014, reporting varies)
Meghan Markle’s first legally recognized marriage was to American film producer Trevor Engelson; the couple wed in 2011 in a ceremony widely reported as taking place in Jamaica and celebrated with friends and family [5][6]. Contemporary and retrospective reporting notes the marriage ended after a short period: some sources state the divorce was finalized in August 2013 (Graziamagazine) while other outlets report the legal dissolution completed in 2014, reflecting small discrepancies in public accounts of timing [1][7]. Multiple biographies and news outlets consistently describe this union as Markle’s sole prior legal marriage before meeting Prince Harry [8][6].
2. Second legal marriage: Prince Harry (2018 — present)
The second and current legal marriage occurred when Markle married Prince Harry on 19 May 2018 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle; that ceremony conferred royal titles and was the legally recognized marriage widely documented by news organizations and encyclopedias [2][9][10]. The couple’s wedding followed Markle’s baptism and confirmation into the Church of England earlier that year, formal steps reported as part of the lead-up to their legally binding nuptials [3][10].
3. The private vows and the question of “times married”
In addition to the two legal marriages, reporting indicates a private exchange of vows occurred three days before the Windsor ceremony; that exchange was explicitly described as not being a legally recognized marriage, underscoring the distinction between ceremonial or private vows and civil or ecclesiastical acts that create legal marital status (Wikipedia) [3]. Coverage of the events around the royal wedding and the couple’s own statements reiterate that the only legally operative ceremonies are the 2011 marriage to Engelson and the 2018 marriage to Harry [10][2].
4. Why some accounts cause confusion — facts, dates and the “divorcee” label
Public discussion around Markle’s marital history often blurs timelines, uses shorthand like “divorcee,” and sometimes misstates dates; source-by-source variation is visible in reporting of when her divorce from Engelson was finalized [1][7]. Encyclopedic entries and major profiles uniformly record two legal marriages — to Engelson and to Harry — and note the 2018 Windsor ceremony as the second legal marriage while also documenting the earlier split from Engelson [4][2]. The persistent interest in whether a prior marriage would affect royal protocol helped amplify attention to the earlier union, which in turn magnified minor discrepancies in reporting about finalization dates [1][10].
5. Conclusion: a clear tally, with caveats about reporting details
Measured strictly by legally recognized ceremonies documented in mainstream biographies and news sources, Meghan Markle has been legally married two times: first to Trevor Engelson (married 2011; divorce reported finalized 2013 or 2014 depending on the source) and second to Prince Harry (married 19 May 2018) [5][1][7][2][10]. Reports of a private vow exchange exist but are explicit that they did not amount to a legal marriage, and small discrepancies in reporting dates of divorce do not change the core count of two legal marriages [3][1].