PRINCE HARRY TO MARRY ACTRESS MEGHAN MARKLE
THE FIFTH IN LINE FOR BRITISH THRONE, HARRY WILL MARRY IN THE SPRING
LONDON: Prince Harry, fifth in line for the British throne, will marry American actress Meghan Markle in the spring, palace officials announced on Monday, confirming months of rumours.
Markle, a humanitarian campaigner and lifestyle blogger who succeeded in show business before falling for Harry, will become a senior member of the royal family as the wife of one of the monarchy’s most popular figures. Harry, a bad-boy-madegood by his tireless devotion to wounded vets and his embrace of a variety of charitable causes, has for several years said he wants to start a family, and the rumours of his engagement to Markle have been flying for some time.
The marriage represents a first-ever blending of Hollywood glamour with the once-stuffy royal family, which has of late seemed less fixed in its ways. Harry’s brother, Prince William, and his pregnant wife Kate welcomed Markle to the royal family.
“We are very excited for Harry and Meghan,” they said in a statement. “It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.”
Harry’s father, Prince Charles, told reporters he was “thrilled” with the engagement. “They’ll be very happy indeed,” he said.
The royal announcement said the couple were engaged in London earlier this month and that Harry has informed his grand- mother, Queen Elizabeth II. It said he sought and received the permission of Markle’s parents.
The couple plan to live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace. Markle is also reported to have started the sometimes timeconsuming process of moving her dogs from Canada to Britain. She recently left her television show, a development that helped fuelled the engagement speculation.
Congratulations also came in from the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, and from Prime Minister Theresa May. Markle’s parents also welcomed the news.
Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland said their daughter Meghan “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.”
Markle was raised in the Los Angeles area. Her father is a Hollywood lighting director, her mother a yoga instructor and psychotherapist. The announcement means another grand royal wedding may be in the offing — the first since William and and Kate married in 2011 — though it is possible the couple may choose to have a private ceremony, perhaps in a remote location far from the paparazzi who bedeviled Harry’s mother, Princess Diana.