Their love story is so incredible that it
may seem like fiction. A simple American soldier actually stole a
princess and then married her with her consent. Her uncle Hamad, the king of Bahrain, was
furious. But all the monarch's efforts proved insignificant
against the tenacity of true love. How did the lovers overcome all the obstacles? How did this fantastic story unfold and how
did it end? Watch the video to the end to find out! Let's get started! Meriam Al Khalifa is a true oriental princess. She is one of the five daughters of Sheikh
Abdullah, brother of the ruler of Bahrain. In 1998, the girl turned 18, and the banal
fate of a Middle Eastern sheikha awaited her. Receive a traditional Islamic education, marry
an aristocrat chosen by her father, give birth and raise children. As Meriam herself later said, she did not
dare to object to such a development. But deep in her heart she hoped that true
love would come into her life and break these miserable norms. When the princess celebrated her eighteenth
birthday, she had no idea that destiny had already prepared phenomenal events and trials
for her. At about the same time, a military transport
plane took off from Camp Pendleton Air Force Base in California. One of its passengers was an ordinary American
guy named Jason Johnson. He was 28 years old at the time. The Marine Lance Corporal was being sent to
Bahrain to serve on a U.S. military base. Service in the quiet capital of Manama was
boring, and there was no danger to the Americans here. Jason spent most of his time at the Juffair
military base, with occasional visits to the city. On one such visit, the corporal went to a
supermarket to buy food. When he saw a girl shopping, Jason's heart
raced. According to him, he immediately realized
that the girl in front of him was the one meant for him. The beautiful stranger was Princess Meriam. When she caught the eyes of the tall, red-haired
man, so different from the local men, the Sheikha didn't look away. At that moment, a spark flew between them
that later ignited a fire that almost led to a political conflict. The young people met and began to date in
secret. Meriam didn't tell anyone about Jason, not
even her sisters, not to mention her strict father. The explanation is simple. There was a social gulf between the representative
of a royal dynasty and the son of a common Chicago truck driver. Moreover, Meriam was a Sunni Muslim, while
Jason was a Christian and a Mormon. To keep the secret, the lovers were forced
to have infrequent but hot dates. But their secret was discovered. One of the princess's bodyguards tracked the
lovers down and reported Meriam's fall to her mother. A scandal erupted in the family. Her father strictly forbade his daughter to
continue her relationship with a common soldier, and even a Christian. But the girl's love was stronger. She found a way to communicate with Jason. Moreover, the relationship became even more
romantic. The lovers exchanged emotional messages and
phone calls, and Meriam had to speak on the phone in a whisper. When the Marine's one-year contract came to
an end, it was clear that a decision had to be made. So the princess took the risk of opening up
to her parents. She honestly told her father about her love
and that she couldn't live without her chosen one. The Sheikha asked her to make an exception
to the royal family's rules and allow her to officially marry an American. This openness was a mistake. Miriam's father was furious. He simply could not allow such a disgrace
to the family. Instead of approving the marriage, he placed
his daughter under house arrest. She was forbidden to leave the palace without
her parents' permission until Jason would be leaving Bahrain. To be on the safe side, guards watched her
every move. The Sheikh underestimated the power of love
and the ingenuity of the U.S. Marines. Corporal Johnson made a curious observation. In the boarding area of the Manama airport,
only civilians were checked for documents. U.S. military personnel were usually allowed
to board the plane without any inspection. Jason decided to take advantage of this feature
and arrange for the Princess to leave the country. His friends helped him get a set of U.S. Marine
uniforms and make some sort of fake ID. It wouldn't pass a serious background check,
but it was better than nothing. On the day Jason was to leave Bahrain, a luxury
limousine pulled up to the Al Khalifa family palace. Meriam told her mother that she'd rented it
for a shopping trip and had been given permission to go into town. Right in the car, Meriam changed into a U.S.
military uniform, hiding her long hair under a military cap. As a result, not one, but two Marines approached
the gangway of the military plane departing for Chicago. One was redheaded and tall, and the other
was small in stature, but with aristocratic manners. It's unbelievable, but the daring plan succeeded! The escape was discovered by Sheikh Abdullah's
security service when the plane was already over the Atlantic. His brother, Bahrain's ruler Hamad, immediately
called the U.S. State Department and demanded that the plane be turned around. He threatened a high-profile diplomatic scandal
and even the closure of the U.S. military base in Bahrain. But U.S. authorities refused, citing technical
reasons. Immediately after landing, Meriam applied
for political asylum in the United States. She claimed that she could be killed in Bahrain
for dishonoring the royal family. Even with the threat of political conflict,
the U.S. authorities didn't turn her away. They granted Meriam refugee status, but Jason
was severely punished. The corporal was court-martialed, demoted
and dismissed from the army. Nevertheless, the couple was happy! The lovers attracted the attention of the
press. They were featured in glossy magazines and
even invited to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Meriam and Jason's popularity peaked in 2001. The film company Columbia TriStar paid the
couple half a million dollars for the right to film their story. In February of that year, The Princess & the
Marine hit the screens. Interestingly, the lovers in the movie are
presented under their real names, which added serious realism to the story. In Las Vegas, where the heroes settled after
a high-profile wedding, they were recognized on the streets and cheered. Unfortunately, every fairy tale must come
to an end. Their married life was not what they had imagined. Meriam was more interested in partying in
Las Vegas than enjoying life with her husband. The money received for the film version of
their story quickly ran out, and the family found themselves on the verge of poverty. Jason had to take a job as a valet, parking
cars for rich nightclub patrons. Meanwhile, the princess's father told his
daughter that he forgave her and didn't condemn her for her impertinent act. And in mid-2001, the wheel of fate turned
in the opposite direction. Meriam returned to Bahrain, and three years
later, she officially divorced Jason. Then, as befits a caring father, Sheikh Abdullah
married his daughter to a respected man, one of the country's top diplomatic officials. But what happened to Meriam and what was Jason's
fate? According to media reports, Jason spent the
rest of his money on college tuition. He stayed to live in Las Vegas and for a long
time he could not come to his senses. Later he met a charming girl who was the absolute
opposite of Meriam. And in 2011, the couple had a magnificent
wedding, swearing eternal love and fidelity. Meriam's fate was more mysterious. It seemed that her life became a secret of
the Al-Khalifa family. However, a few years ago, in the British press
suddenly appeared in the photo of a gala reception organized by the ambassador of Bahrain with
a typical surname Al-Khalifa and his beautiful wife Meriam! Outwardly, the fugitive princess was almost
completely unchanged and seemed to be completely satisfied with her current situation. This crazy love story of a simple soldier
and a princess ended without a traditional happy ending. But Jason and Meriam are unlikely to regret
it. During their relationship, the young people
lived a life that novels are written and movies are made about. After all, they were ruled by true love! What do you think about this couple? Share in the comments. Subscribe to our channel and put a like if
you enjoyed the video. See you soon!
