Women of colour celebrate 'black princess' Meghan Markle - and liken the royal engagement to Obama's election

Hashtag #blackprincess has gone viral since royal engagement announcement
Many said that Meghan is an icon for black women and girls around the world
Some compared the announcement to Barack Obama's election as US president
One admitted she was moved to tears at Meghan becoming royalty

Published: 10:14 GMT, 5 December 2017 | Updated: 17:07 GMT, 5 December 2017

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement has been hailed as a historic moment for the black community, with women of colour taking to Twitter to celebrate the advent of a 'black princess'.

Since the happy news was announced last week, the hashtag #blackprincess has been used hundreds of times with writer Tyler Young leading the celebrations, saying that Harry and Meghan's wedding will be her equivalent of the Superbowl.

'We got us a Black princess ya'll,' she wrote. 'You really can't tell me a damn thing for the rest of the day because it won't matter. Shout out to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Their wedding will be my Super Bowl.'

Her post was retweeted 9,200 times, and received hundreds of comment including one from Carolyn Mack, who admitted she'd been moved to tears by the news. saying: 'Move over Tiana, behold our royalty'.

Others excited for a woman of colour to be joining the royal family, compared the news to when Obama was made president.

And several commenters described Meghan as a symbol of hope to black women and young girls all over the world.

Since the announcement of Harry's engagement to Meghan Markle last week, people have been celebrating on Twitter with the hashtag 'black princess'

One woman compared the royal wedding to the Superbowl and said how excited she was

The hashtag black princess went viral shortly after the royal announcement was made, with many describing Meghan as an icon for black women and girls around the world

One commented that Meghan marring into the royal family shows that 'black women can be treasured, adored and shown as the beautiful women they always were.'

However, the comments provoked a wider debate about race with some insisting that Meghan should not be referred to as black because she is bi-racial.

A commenter wrote: 'She looks like a white woman. Let's appreciate real black women and not just the mixed ones. And FYI, white see her as white a lot of them had no idea she was black.'

Meghan has previously opened up about how proud she is of her heritage in an interview with Elle Magazine.

Fans likened the engagement of Harry and Meghan to the election of former US president Barack Obama

Her mother Doria Ragland is black, while her father Thomas Markle is white.

'While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that,' she said.

'To say who I am, to share where I'm from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman.'

The FIRST 'black princess' in Europe

Angela Gisela Brown became the first black woman to marry into a ruling European royal family when she wed Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein in 2000.

Panama-born Angela, a graduate of New York's Parsons Design School ran her own fashion label A. Brown and also worked as a fashion director for Adrienne Vittadini prior to her marriage.

She met the prince, who is eleven years her junior, at a reception in New York and the pair were married at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York, with Angela wearing a gown she'd designed herself.

A year after their wedding, their son Prince Alfons was born and the family live a low key life, largely shunning the spotlight.

Like Harry, Prince Maximilian is a second son (of reigning Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein) and is unlikely to inherit the throne, allowing him to live a relatively normal life.

Princess Angela occasionally participates in ceremonial events in the principality.

Panama-born Angela brown became the first black woman to marry into a ruling European royal family when she wed Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein in 2000