*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).
President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" bill could mean cheaper electric bicycles and scooters as the nation attempts to shift away from gas-powered cars. Noa Banayan, the director of federal affairs at PeopleForBikes, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to provide some background on the E-Bike Act included in Biden's reconciliation bill that would provide tax credits for qualified purchases. "We want to make sure, from the bike industry's perspective, that this is a technology and a product that is available to the majority of Americans who want to lower their carbon footprint and get around town faster and do everything that they would normally do in a short car trip but by bike, because it's healthier, it's fast, it's efficient, you're not in traffic," she said.
It's being called the next big trend in crypto. A decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, is an internet community of different types of groups and businesses. The purpose is to allow people to commit funds to a specific cause in a safe way. Now, one social platform is creating a do-it-yourself kit for those who want to step into the space. Upstream Collective just launched the beta mode of its platform with the goal of putting all facets of running a DAO in one place. Alex Taub, co-founder and CEO of Upstream, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Walmart and Zipline have teamed up to launch a drone delivery service in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The service delivers products to customers within a 50-mile radius of the store. Liam O'Connor, COO of Zipline, joins Cheddar News to talk more about the partnership.
A NASA spacecraft that will deliberately crash into an asteroid is preparing to launch this week. The goal of the DART mission, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is to hit the smaller of the two asteroids, Dimorphos, with the spacecraft at about 15,000 miles per hour and see how the impact changes the asteroid’s trajectory. Joey Roulette, space reporter at The New York Times, joins Cheddar News to talk more about it.
After a pandemic pause where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was closed to the public, the annual tradition is returning to the streets of New York with some new, yet familiar, faces. In addition to 10 marching bands, dozens of floats, 30 heritage balloons, and five other newcomers, one creature from a galaxy far, far away is joining the festivities, courtesy of toy manufacturer Funko. Coming in at 41 feet tall, 29 feet long, and 37 feet wide, the Funko Pop!-inspired Grogu balloon, from "The Mandalorian," will make his debut this year. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
AAA is expecting 80% more airline passengers and almost 10% more road trips in the pandemic’s biggest holiday travel surge. Melanie Lieberman, senior travel editor at The Points Guy, joins Cheddar News to detail what travelers are up against.
Protests across the country continued all weekend following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. A jury found the 18-year-old not guilty of all five felony charges. Rittenhouse was accused of killing two people and wounding another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. Jaha Howard, political strategist and civil rights advocate, joins Cheddar News to breakdown the verdict.
