Commoners who married into royalty

Sofia Hellqvist was a model and reality television contestant before marrying Swedish Prince Carl Philip in 2015. REUTERS/Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency

Tatiana Blatnik, born in Venezuela and raised in Switzerland, was an event planner for Diane von Furstenberg before marrying Prince Nikolaos, son of Greece's deposed King Constantine, in 2010. REUTERS/John Kolesidis

Michiko Shoda met Japan's Crown Prince Akihito on a tennis court and wed in 1959, becoming the first commoner to marry into Japan's royal family. Kyodo/via REUTERS

Kate Middleton met Britain's Prince William while both were students at the University of St. Andrews. They married in 2011. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Rania Al-Yassin, born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, met Jordan's Crown Prince Abdullah II at a dinner party. They married in 1993 and Abdullah assumed the throne in 1999. REUTERS/Files

Charlene Lynette Wittstock was an Olympic swimmer for South Africa before marrying Albert II, Prince of Monaco in 2011. REUTERS/Francois Mori/Pool

Daniel Westling met Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria while working as her personal trainer. They wed in 2010. REUTERS/Bob Strong

Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck married commoner Jetsun Pema in a 2011 wedding that transfixed the reclusive kingdom. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Sonja Haraldsen dated Norway's Crown Prince Harald in secret for years before Harald told his father King Olav V he would never marry anyone but her, putting in jeopardy their future on the throne as Harald was the sole heir. They wed in 1968 after...more

Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was a journalist and news anchor before marrying Spain's Prince Felipe in 2004. He assumed the throne in 2014. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo

Mary Elizabeth met Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik at a pub in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics. They stayed in touch and wed in 2004. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti was born in Argentina and working in New York City when she met Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander at Spain's Seville Spring Fair in 1999. He visited her in New York two weeks later and they wed in 2002. ...more

Masako Owada originally refused to marry Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito, worried that it would end her career in diplomacy and restrict her independence. But she finally accepted his third proposal and they married in 1993. REUTERS/File

Silvia Renate Sommerlath, born in Germany, met Sweden's Crown Prince Carl Gustaf while working as an educational host during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. They married in 1976, three years after he assumed the throne. REUTERS/Jan Collsioo

Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby met Norway's Crown Prince Haakon at a music festival in the late 1990s. They married in 2001. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir