IT’S OFFICIAL: HARRY TO MARRY
PRINCE Harry and American actress Meghan Markle are engaged to be married, with Prince Charles announcing his son’s happy news to the world in London last night.
“His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle,’’ the statement said.
“The wedding will take place in spring 2018. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.
“His Royal Highness and Ms Markle became engaged in London earlier this month.
“Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty the Queen and other close members of his family.
“Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle’s parents.’’
Prince Charles said the pair would live at Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, Prince Harry’s current home.
The announcement triggered a wave of royal wedding fever across the UK, and followed days of intense speculation after Ms Markle was photographed shopping on the Kings Road in trendy
Chelsea on Tuesday with a royal protection officer.
TV stations in Britain switched to wall-to-wall coverage of the pair, and social media lit up with messages of congratulations.
Ms Markle has been in the process of moving her two dogs, Bogart and Guy, from Canada to London, and has taken possession of a car in the English capital in recent weeks.
Bookmakers suspended betting on the royal engagement on Thursday night.
Prince Harry, 33, and Ms Markle, 36, had been maintaining
a long-distance relationship, flying across the globe between London and Toronto in Canada, where Ms Markle has been filming the TV legal drama Suits.
Filming has wrapped on season seven and Ms Markle will not return next year.
Although there has been no formal announcement to this effect, Ms Markle will now give up her acting career to focus on her life as a royal.
Harry’s older brother Prince William’s wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is expecting their third child in April, guaranteeing
royal watchers a marvellous spring of royal babies and weddings to celebrate.
Heir-to-the-throne Prince William, Catherine, and their children Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2, also have a home at Kensington Palace.
The engaged couple were due to appear at a photo call and broadcast interview overnight.
Ms Markle, who was married for two years to a film producer in the US, is the first American divorcee to marry into the British royal family since 1937, when King Edward abdicated the throne in favour of his brother, King George, in order to marry his twice-married lover Wallis Simpson.
However, the marriage of Prince Harry to Ms Markle will not cause a constitutional crisis, as the prince is only fifth in line to the throne, and will fall back to sixth with the arrival of Prince William and Catherine’s third baby, due in April next year.
Prince Harry’s father, the future king Prince Charles, is divorced (his wife Diana, Harry’s mother, later died), and his second wife Camilla is also a divorcee. Harry’s uncle Prince Andrew and his aunt, Princess Anne, are also divorced.
Ms Markle’s parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland issued a statement through Kensington Palace sharing their excitement and happiness.
“We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry,’’ they said.
“Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents.
“We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.’’