When news of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s engagement broke, the world was immediately enthralled with their story. Markle instantly became something of an international icon due to her unprecedented background. She is American, she is divorced, and she is biracial. And while none of these things may seem exceptional to today’s average person, these characteristics are remarkable for the Royal Family. But Markle identifying as biracial and marrying a white man of such stature and standing would have made headlines even in the United States just a few decades ago.

The landmark case regarding interracial marriage, Loving v. Virginia, was decided by a unanimous Supreme Court on June 12, 1967. This civil rights case officially overturned the ban on interracial marriages in all states when it dismissed the Commonwealth of Virginia’s argument that “a law forbidding both white and black persons from marrying persons of another race and providing identical penalties to white and black violators could not be construed as racially discriminatory”.

But before Loving v. Virginia, interracial marriage was both extremely taboo as well as illegal. Anti-miscegenation laws, or state laws passed by individual states to prohibit interracial marriage and interracial sex, originated during slavery and were written mainly to prevent blacks from “infiltrating” white families. The laws most often prevented whites from marrying non-whites, but minority groups could usually intermarry.

And while bans on interracial marriages were struck down in the unanimous Supreme Court decision, the public opinion was much different. According to a Gallup poll, only 4 percent of Americans approved of interracial marriage in 1959. A bit closer to the Loving v. Virginia decision, America was still divided on the issue. Gallup found the American public evenly split: 48% of U.S. adults in January 1965 approved of laws making marriage between blacks and whites a crime, while 46% disapproved. In a 1968 International Gallup poll that focused on personal approval rather than criminal repercussion, 72% of Americans disapproved of marriage between whites and nonwhites. In 2013, less than 50 years later, Gallup’s latest update shows 87%  of Americans approving of interracial marriage. This final statistic is extremely notable for two reasons. First, the approval rate skyrocketed in a relatively quick period of time. But second, this means that as of 2013, there were still 13% of Americans who disapproved of interracial marriage.

So when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married in May of 2018, in front of a worldwide audience (over 29 million in the United States alone), it really was remarkable. As an individual, Markle is breaking traditions, and as an interracial couple, the Prince and Duchess are truly breaking boundaries. We shouldn’t downplay the significance of this coupling. These two have brought interracial marriage onto the world stage and to the forefront of world culture. And remember– it was only 51 years ago that their marriage would not have just been unacceptable, it would have been illegal.

By: Cianna Allen