MEGHAN AND HARRY
After their tea with the Queen, the prince and the showgirl stir more talk about an engagement in the works.
AFord Galaxy stationwagon with tinted windows pulled up outside the Queen’s private entrance at Buckingham Palace on the afternoon of Thurs., Oct. 12. The visitors were Prince Harry and his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, who had arrived to take tea with the Queen, authoritative royals commentator Richard Kay revealed a week later. At 5 PM, the trio gathered in the Queen’s private sitting room, sipping her custom Darjeeling-assam blend and picking at a spread of fruit and scones. Whether Meghan felt rattled at the prospect of facing the 91-year-old monarch—or if this was even their first meeting—is not known, but the appointment was reportedly kept as informal as possible, to settle the American actress’s nerves as much as to minimise talk within palace walls.
Buzz about the intimate get-together couldn’t be quelled for long. Taking place two weeks after Harry, 33, and the Suits star, 36, stepped out together publicly for the first time at the Invictus Games in Toronto, the couple’s private tea with the Queen is the latest milestone on their road to a royal wedding. Although Kensington Palace declined to comment, the tea party is not the only sign an announcement is imminent, with reports swirling about the pair house hunting and Meghan quitting Suits as she prepares to make a permanent move to London ahead of a wedding mid–next year. “While Meghan may not be wearing a ring … it’s fair to say they’re as good as engaged now,” a source told E! of the pair, who’ve been dating for at least 15 months. “They’ve spoken about their marriage plans openly with each other, and friends and family around them are pretty
“It’s fair to say they’re as good as engaged now”
much thinking about wedding attire already.”
The stakes are much higher for the rumoured bride-to-be, who seemed to hint at a massive shift afoot when she confirmed her romance with Harry to Vanity Fair. “I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves ... but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time.” The question now is, in stepping forward into her new life as a member of the royal family, what must she leave behind? Possibly her TV career, with reports claiming the actress has quit the legal drama and will film her final scenes on the show’s Toronto set next month. “Meghan knows she can’t really act at the same time as being a princess and is happy to make this career sacrifice,” a source told The Daily Star. Said another source, to The Sun, “Meghan loved playing Rachel and feels she owes much to Suits. But Harry can’t move to Toronto, so she’ll have to move eventually if they want to be together. Her decision to give up the biggest role of her career would mean a lot.”
The significance of that would not be lost on Harry, who is “incredibly supportive of her work,” a source told Hello! magazine (Meghan showed him around the set after the Invictus Games). “[She] has a packed schedule between now and November with Suits, but after that will be an exciting time for them and a new chapter in their relationship,” a source told E!
The star, who closed down her lifestyle blog, The Tig, in April, will reportedly move to London when the season wraps, as early as the end of November. She is said to have started scouting property in London, “so she has somewhere for her family to stay,” a friend of Meghan’s told Us magazine. As she has been when she’s in London, Meghan will continue to live with Harry at Nottingham Cottage, his two-bedroom apartment in Kensington Palace. The couple can look forward to an upgrade, with speculation that the 21-room Apartment 1 (next door to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their brood in 1A) is being renovated for Harry. Said the friend, “Setting up their future is top priority for both of them.”
If they tie the knot, it would be the first time an heir to the throne—harry is fifth in line—has wed an American since Edward VIII famously abdicated to marry twice-divorced Wallis Simpson in 1937. (Meghan split from her first husband, director Trevor Engelson, in 2013 after two years.) Experts tell WHO Meghan and Harry might mirror Prince Charles’s understated second wedding in 2005, with a civil ceremony followed by a service of blessing at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. “I don’t imagine Prince Harry will go for a big, grand wedding,” says historian Hugo Vickers. “He would want to do it his own way.”
While the engagement is unlikely to be announced before the Queen and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary on Nov. 20, Harry’s aides have reportedly been instructed to short-list suitable wedding dates. A hint? Guests should dress for warm weather. “William and Kate are expecting their third baby mid-april, and Harry won’t want to overshadow the birth,” a source told Vanity Fair. “The most likely date is early [northern] summer 2018, which neatly ties in with Harry and Meghan’s second anniversary.”
Amid the unknowns, two things are
“I don’t imagine Prince Harry will go for a big, grand wedding” —historian Hugo Vickers
certain: that Harry and Meghan’s relationship is moving fast—it took four years for his ex Chelsy Davy to meet the Queen—and that protocol demands Harry seek the monarch’s blessing to marry the woman he loves. Luckily, the heir’s tea with “Granny” is likely to have turned out sweeter than the treats on offer. As an insider tells WHO, “If Harry asks for something, she would say yes—she adores him.”