Meghan and Harry to visit Dublin within weeks of their wedding
PRINCE Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle are planning a ‘mini-moon’ in Ireland, it can be revealed.
Arrangements are being put in place for the royal couple to visit in the weeks after their wedding.
Sources say they are likely to take part in a series of engagements over the course of two days.
It will be the second royal visit to the Republic of the summer, as Prince Harry’s father Charles and his wife Camilla are expected in late April or early May.
Prince Harry and American actress Meghan are due to get married on May 19 in St George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, Berkshire.
Their honeymoon has been a closely guarded secret but sources indicated a trip to Dublin is pencilled in for shortly after the nuptials.
A source said: “It will possibly be the first foreign trip after their wedding.”
The publicity around such a visit could prove helpful to Anglo-Irish relations at a time when Brexit has created a strain between the two governments.
Neither the British Embassy nor Dublin’s Department of Foreign Affairs were in a position to comment about the visit last night.
Details of royal trips are generally kept under wraps until shortly before the event due to security concerns.
Prince Harry has never visited the Republic before but Ms Markle spent time there as an ambassador for the One Young World summit in 2014.
The itinerary for their visit in June or July is only in the early stages but it is believed they will stay for just one night.
The Irish Republic has become a favourite destination for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in recent years.
Last May, Charles and Camilla undertook a three-day tour which included stops in Kilkenny and the Curragh.
They also attended a ceremony to honour Irish soldiers who died in the 1916 Rising and World War One, as well as visiting Michael Collins’ grave in Glasnevin Cemetery.
Their upcoming visit is again expected to include a number of events outside of the capital.
However, sources say the younger royals are “urbanites” who are likely to base themselves in the capital.
Since being unveiled as a royal bride-to-be, Ms Markle has accompanied Harry on a string of public outings. A source said it is not yet clear whether there will be any opportunities for public ‘meet and greets’ during their time in the Republic, but it has become a common feature of their engagements.
Their wedding is set to be a very public event with TV cameras allowed inside the church and more than 2,000 members of the public invited to watch the carriage procession.
Gardai foiled a plan by two men to carry out a terror operation involving explosives during Prince Charles’ previous State visit to the Republic in 2015.