DETROIT – The American fascination with royalty runs deep in the United States and Meghan Markle isn't the first actress to take the plunge.
"Grace Kelly is sort of like the gold standard of Americans marrying into royalty," Local 4 royal expert Jon Jordan said.
The Philadelphia native was a major Hollywood star when she became Princess Grace of Monaco in 1956. But she wasn't instantly embraced by the people of Monaco like Markle has been by the Brits.
Princess Grace's cousin John Lehman, the former U.S. Naval secretary, remembers how hard she had to work to gain respect.
"She went through some awkward years getting the people in Monaco to accept her," Lehman said. "For the first few years, there was a bit of a language barrier, which she studiously erased by really learning French and learning the Monegasque culture and French culture, and so it didn't take too long before she was their princess."
More than 60 years later, Princess Grace is still making her mark.
"She is a style icon," Jordan said. "She still inspires brides to this day to look like she did on her wedding day. There was inspiration in her dress when the Duchess of Cambridge got married to Prince William."
But Markle isn't expected to follow in the steps of her soon-to-be sister-in-law, according to Jordan.
"I think that Meghan is an independent thinker," Jordan said. "I think she is respectful of tradition, but I think her brand is to be modern and herself."
Prince Harry isn't the first major royal to marry an American divorcee. His great-great-uncle, King Edward the Eighth, abdicated the throne in order to marry twice-divorced and American-born Wallis Warfield Simpson.
"She caused a big ruckus, to say the least," Jordan said. "Meghan Markle is an American divorcee and she is flowing seamlessly into her new role. Wally, on the other hand, she ruffled tail feathers. She was very controversial. She was twice divorced. Marrying the king of England also means you are marrying the head of the Church of England, so there was no way in the 1930s that a marriage between a king and a divorcee was going to happen."
Simpson didn't try to fit in, instead demonstrating an irreverence toward Edward's position, which he found very appealing, Jordan said. Most Brits didn't, however, and felt like she had cast a spell over Edward.
"There are also many facts that suggest there was a sinister side to this couple," Jordan said. "The photos of them greeting and smiling with the fuhrer Adolph Hitler. They also, after abdication and after the war, they became the world's best-known freeloaders."
Getting a piece of royal prestige has been a competition between many wealthy Americans, including the Kennedys.
"When Jack and Jackie got married, that was sort of referred to as American royalty," Jordan said. "So Lee Bouvier, Jackie's younger sister, not to be out done, she ended up marrying a Polish prince. So one sister ended up with a president and the other ended up with a prince."
Fast-forward to the 21st Century, and royal rivalries are still going strong among the American elite.
"Another case of sibling rivalry: the first Miller sister married the crown prince of Greece," Jordan said. "She became HRH Marie Chantal of Greece and Denmark."
The Hilton sisters were also involved.
"Nicky Hilton is sort of a modern day version of a well-to-do American daughter of well-to-do families who kind of made this mad dash to foreign lands to land not only a great husband, a wealthier husband, but one that has a title," Jordan said. "She married James Rothschild, who will become Baron Rothschild, and I believe that seals the deal in terms of Nicky Hilton outdoing her sister, Paris."
Jordan said the bottom line is that no matter how much money someone has, they can't buy a real royal title.
"If you are born into royalty, you will always have that title, regardless of your financial status," Jordan said. "If you are born into money or you make a lot of money, the only way you can get a royal title is to marry a royal."