Before meeting Prince Rainier, Kelly was on track to become one of the most financially successful actresses in the world. However, after she was asked to pay a $2 million dowry, the equivalent of roughly $20 million today, using her own money and family wealth, she essentially had nothing left.

When she died at the age of 52, Princess Grace only had a net worth of $10,000 and the deed to her grandfather’s small cottage in Ireland in her own name.

Princess Grace’s and Meghan Markle’s marriages were both depicted in the press as fairy tale love stories.

Both Grace Kelly’s and Meghan’s Markle’s engagement and wedding days received massive public attention. Both royal weddings were broadcast live to audiences around the world and described as “modern fairy tales.”

Kelly’s wedding to Rainier was the first royal wedding to ever be transmitted live.

Prince Rainier was seeking a bride to produce an heir to the Monegasque throne, whereas Prince Harry knew he would likely never ascend to the throne.

Kelly maintained that she married for love.

“When I married Prince Rainier, I married the man and not what he represented or what he was. I fell in love with him without giving a thought to anything else,” Kelly once said.

Prince Harry, who was fifth in line to the throne when he married Meghan Markle, had no obligation to produce an heir to the British throne. Now sixth in line, it is extremely unlikely he or his children, Archie and Lilibet, will ever ascend to the throne.

Meghan Markle and Princess Grace both retained their US citizenship after marrying into royalty.

According to the Princess Grace Foundation, Grace Kelly was not required to renounce her American citizenship and became a dual citizen of the United States and Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier.

Meghan Markle also retained her American citizenship and even voted in the 2020 presidential election after she and Prince Harry moved to California.

Meghan Markle and Princess Grace both experienced culture shock after moving away from the United States.

While both Markle and Kelly experienced vastly different ways of life in London and Monaco, respectively, after becoming royalty, they both attempted to adjust to their new roles by immersing themselves in projects and causes they cared about.

“I never really liked Hollywood. I found it unreal — unreal and full of men and women whose lives were confused and full of pain,” Kelly once said.

Once a royal, she supported charities working for child welfare and established her own foundation to benefit local artists.

Meghan Markle appears to have had a harder time adjusting to her royal life and the expectations that came with it — in a March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said she was naive when she entered the marriage. Last year, the California native, Prince Harry, and their son, Archie, all relocated to Santa Barbara after stepping back from the royal family.

However, she too has focused on causes she cares about, formerly serving as a patron of charities in the UK, and launching her nonprofit foundation Archewell with Prince Harry.

After starting a relationship with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle faced negativity and racism in the press.

While there were negative reports about Kelly in the press during her time in Hollywood, Princess Grace was adored by both the people of Monaco and the Monegasque media.

However, Meghan Markle faced oftentimes unfair backlash and criticism from the British tabloids, practically from the moment she was romantically linked to Prince Harry. Her and Prince Harry’s treatment by the British press resulted in multiple lawsuits and a string of legal battles.

Meghan Markle also spoke out about the problems she faced within the royal family that led to her and Prince Harry relinquishing their royal duties and moving to California.