10 Commoners Who Married Into Royalty & Became Prince or Princess!!

From the media circus of Kate Middleton and Prince William's wedding to the marriage of a Ugandan Princess and an American businessman, the general public is obsessed with royal romance.

And that goes double when a member of the monarchy is marrying a commoner.

We have rounded up 25 commoners who have married into monarchies from all around the globe. 

Grace Kelly — Princess of Monaco

Grace Kelly was 26 when she retired from acting.

 Associated Press

Grace Kelly began her acting career in 1950, but retired in 1956 to marry Rainier III, the Prince of Monaco. They had met during a photo shoot at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, one Grace almost skipped. The couple had three children.

In 1982, she suffered a minor stroke while driving and was critically injured when the car went over the edge of a 45-foot embankment. Grace died the following night at the hospital.

Rania Al Yassin became the Queen of Jordan.

Official Title: Queen Consort of Jordan

Rania was working at the Apple office in Amman, and met the then-Prince Abdullah II at a dinner party being thrown by his sister. They apparently fell in love instantly, and were engaged just two months later.

Abdullah II ascended the throne and became the King of Jordan in February 1999, and a month later the couple was married on March 22. They have four children together.

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.

Kate Middleton — Duchess of Cambridge

Kate will become queen when William becomes king.

 Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Kate was studying art history at the University of St. Andrews when she met Prince William in 2001. After dating on-and-off for numerous years, the couple married on April 29, 2011, and millions of people around the world tuned in to watch the ceremony. They have two children: Prince George, born July 2013, and Princess Charlotte, born May 2015.

Adans Lopez Peres lived the life of a Prince for a year.

Official Title: Mr. Adans Lopez Peres (never received an official title or style)

It's a mystery how Adans met the Princess Stephanie of Monaco, given that he was a Portuguese trapeze artist and 5th-generation circus performer 10 years her junior. 

They secretly married in Vandœuvres, Switzerland on September 12, 2003, but the marriage didn't last long: They separated 10 months later, and were officially divorced on November 24, 2004.

Silvia Sommerlath — Queen of Sweden

Silvia is the longest-serving queen of Sweden.

 Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Silvia was working as a hostess at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich when she met then-Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden. The prince ascended to the throne after the death of his grandfather in 1973. The couple married in 1976 and has three children and five grandchildren.

Jetsun Pema became the Queen of Bhutan.

Official Title: Her Majesty The Queen of Bhutan

The Prince first met Jetsun when she was 7 years old and he was 17 at a family picnic. He told her that if she was still single and he was still single when she grew up, they would marry.

He was true to his word. On October 13, 2011, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Bhutanese married his 20-year-old bride in a traditional Buddhist ceremony.

Christopher Thomas became the Prince of Uganda.

Official Title: Prince Christopher Thomas

Princess Ruth Komuntale of Uganda was studying at American University in Washington DC when she met Christopher Thomas, an accountant working at Discovery Channel in Silver Spring. They started dating, and Christopher proposed at a local Ruth's Chris Steak House.

But it wasn't until after their engagement that Christopher realized how integral Ruth was in Uganda's Toro Kingdom. Christopher was officially accepted into the royal family, and the couple was married on November 17, 2012 in Uganda.

Sofia Hellqvist — Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Värmland

The couple's family is continuing to grow.

 Ragnar Singsaas/Getty Images

Before she was a princess, Sofia was a model and reality-TV contestant. Prince Carl Phillip (Silvia's son and Victoria's brother) and Sofia began dating in 2010 and married in June 2015. Their first child, Prince Alexander, was born April 2016. They are expecting a second child in September 2017.

Letizia Ortiz — Queen of Spain

She is the first Spanish queen to be a commoner.

 Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Before marrying Prince Felipe VI, Letizia was a journalist and news anchor. The prince and Letizia married in 2004 (her second marriage). The couple has two daughters. Prince Felipe became the king after his father abdicated the throne in 2014, establishing Letizia as the Queen of Spain.