*By Jacqui Corba, Max Godnick, and Alisha Haridasani*
The highly-anticipated Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle breaks from Buckingham Palace traditions, bringing with it the promise of sweeping changes in the British monarchy. But the union of Harry, sixth in line for the throne, and Markle, an American actress, owes a debt of gratitude to royal couples from the recent past.
"Meghan is an independent woman. She's shown that over and over again with everything that she is doing," said Jeremy Parsons, People TV's PeopleNow host. "She is breaking many molds in terms of what has been expected with the Royals."
Markle is a mixed-raced divorcée known for her role as Rachel Zane on the TV show “Suits.” Not the traditional pedigree for a royal bride, but not totally unprecedented.
Harry's older brother, Prince William, married Kate Middleton seven years ago. William, second in line for the throne, met his "commoner" bride while studying at St. Andrews University.
The photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones married Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, in May 1960. When they were wed, he was the first person without a royal title to marry a king's daughter in four centuries.
Markle is also following a precedent set by the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles, who married Prince Charles in 2005. She, too, was divorced, and had two grown children from her previous marriage.
Before Bowles, the monarchy was opposed to rulers and heirs to the throne marrying a divorced person: King Edward VIII had to abdicate in order to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson, a twice-divorced American.
With Harry and Markel's wedding, comes another refreshing change, as Markle has tried to use her royal platform to shine a light on social issues, much as Harry's mother, Princess Diana, did.
"Meghan will make this her own in some way," said Parsons. Markle has invited representatives of charity groups important to her and her husband-to-be to include more of the community in their ceremony, he said.
Questions about who will walk the bride down the aisle have fueled media speculation after Markle confirmed her father would not attend the wedding. On Friday, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the soon-to-be royal will begin her procession alone, before Prince Charles, her future father-in-law, joins her when she reaches the main seating area.
"It's symbolic. The family is really embracing her, and this is a great show of that," said Parsons. "The royal family is no stranger to scandal, and they are embracing her in spite of any of that. This is Harry and Meghan's day."
Some media outlets [praised](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/18/europe/royal-wedding-update-intl/index.html) Markle's decision to walk on her own as a progressive moment for feminism.
"It's a strong-woman moment for her," said Charli Penn, the senior digital lifestyle and relationships editor at Essence.
Markle’s ethnicity, too, will push the Windsor family to become more [relatable](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/12/world/europe/meghan-markle-prince-harry-royal-wedding-race.html) for the three percent of the British population that is black, at a time of rising intolerance in the country.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/royal-wedding-watch-inside-the-modern-monarchy).
Markets closed the day mixed, and well off their lows of the day following a market meltdown earlier in the session. The Nasdaq staged a comeback late in the day, even amid ongoing worries about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Doug Flynn, certified financial planner and co-founder of Flynn Zito Capito, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the markets' close and what's driving the major indexes.
Two companies recently announced a new partnership aimed at addressing the growing demand to borrow against crypto - digital assets capital markets firm CrossTower is partnering with commercial bank, BankProv. The companies are launching a crypto lending platform that will allow Bitcoin miners to receive loans to invest in crypto mining equipment. The companies say the program also addresses the difficulty of breaking into crypto mining due to the high cost. CrossTower research analyst Martin Gaspar joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Next-gen social sports platform Break the Love recently raised $2.5 million in seed funding. Break the Love's platform and iOS app allows users to discover and book group-based tennis activities, to either learn, train, or compete. The new company has already gotten support from a few big names in the world of tennis, including the coach of Naomi Osaka, as well as the United States Tennis Association and the brand Wilson. Break the Love founder and CEO Trisha Goyal joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
As the Omicron variant continues to sweep across the country. The US Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments at the end of this week on whether or not the Biden administration can force private companies to vaccinate or test millions of their employees. In addition, the National Nurses United has spearheaded legal action to protect nurses and health care workers, patients, and the public while on the job. President of the National Nurses Union, Zenei Cortez, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
China's ongoing crackdown of its own entertainment industry has been raising eyebrows for once now. With the ruling Communist Party instructing media companies to boycott immoral and overly entertaining stars. But the country has gone even further. Now experts warn that this could lead to further issues such as gender-based violence. Professor at the Institute of Sociology at National Tsinghua University, Hsiu-Hua Shen, and Associate Professor of Politics at Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame Joshua Eisenman, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Today marks one year since the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. The Country watched as supporters of then-President Trump stormed what was assumed to be the most secure building in the country in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 Election. Several lawmakers, including the Vice President, could be seen ducking down as they feared for their lives. Democratic Michigan Representative Dan Kildee, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Bed Bath & Beyond delivered disappointing fiscal third-quarter results for 2022. Shares initially dove more than 9% in premarket trading on the news but finished the day up nearly 8%. Bed Bath & Beyond has been a meme-stock target for online investors in the past -- so was meme-stock mania a factor in the recent stock movement for the company? Jaime Rogozinski, the founder of the subreddit WallStreetBets, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more, as his forum helped spark the meme stock phenomena. He also discussed some decentralized finance services and trends for the retail investor to watch for in 2022.
Digital medical care provider Pear Therapeutics rang the closing bell on the Nasdaq Friday and President and CEO Dr. Corey McCann, joined Cheddar to talk about how the company plans to grow the business of software-based therapeutics and how the first FDA authorized prescription digital therapeutics company will go about treating illnesses like insomnia and addiction. "These really are pieces of software. In many cases, they're apps and in the cases of our addiction products, these are based on something called cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT," he said. "These products change the patient's brain circuitry to help them be abstinent, to help them stay in treatment, and that's exactly what we see in randomized clinical trials and that's what we see in the real world." He also addressed the ongoing mental health crises brought on by the pandemic. **copy updated to remove IPO information as Pear Therapeutics went public in December**
James Tattersall, director of sales and marketing for Lake Nona Wave Hotel, talks about the hotel's initiatives to foster diversity and how these amenities champion inclusivity in the Orlando area.
