Harry and Meghan: The stars aligned for us
The romantic proposal and their fairytale wedding plans
It was just another cosy night in at Nottingham Cottage for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who were roasting a chicken in the oven at his royal residence at Kensington Palace – a scene of domestic bliss that had played out many times before in the 16 months they’ve been dating.
But the familiar routine was blown out of the water when, after months of speculation, the prince got down on bended knee and asked the stunning actress to be his bride, paving the way for a spectacular union of the British royal family and the Hollywood showbiz world at Windsor Castle in May.
The romantic proposal Suits was “an amazing surprise”, an emotional Meghan gushed in an interview once the news had been made public last week. “It was so sweet and natural.”
Her response was immediate. Grinning, Harry recalls, “She didn’t even let me finish. She said, ‘Can I say yes? Can I say yes?’ and then there were hugs and I had the ring. I was like, ‘Can I give you the ring?’ She goes, ‘Oh, yes, the ring!’ It was a really nice moment, just the two of us, and I managed to catch her by surprise as well.”
She suits him!
For royalty, their love story is a refreshingly unconventional one. At 36, Meghan is three years older than Harry, 33. She’s American, a divorcée and of mixed race. But more importantly, she’s a modern, independent, working woman, a TV star and a humanitarian who actively campaigns for children and the disadvantaged. Although it might seem like she and the prince come from separate worlds, in many ways, her CV is perfect for life in the royal family.
Harry and Meghan were matched by a mutual friend, thought to be fashion designer Misha Nonoo, 31, who set them up on a blind date at London private members’ club Soho House in July 2016.
“I’d never watched Suits – I’d never heard of Meghan before,” the prince says.
And the actress didn’t realise what a big deal
her date was. “Because I’m from the States, you don’t grow up with the same understanding of the royal family,” she insists. “I didn’t know much about him.”
Certainly, Meghan made a good first impression. Harry recalls, “I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her sitting there. I was like, ‘OK, well, I’m going to have to really up my game here and make sure I’ve got good chat.’”
And the prince clearly rose to the challenge because they met again the next day, then checked their hectic schedules and arranged to go “on holiday together in the middle of nowhere, sharing a tent” in Botswana, he reveals. “It was absolutely amazing to get to know her as quickly as I did.”
With Meghan based in Toronto, where Suits is filmed, the pair endured a longdistance romance, making sure they never spent more than two weeks apart. The actress tells, “Very early on, when we realised we were
going to commit to each other, we knew we had to invest the time and energy, and whatever it took to make that happen.”
Harry adds, “Trying to stay as close as possible but on two different time zones and five hours apart, does have its challenges. But we made it work and now we’re here, so we’re thrilled.”
The prince says he realised “essentially from day one” that he was in love with Meghan. “But I still had to sit down on the sofa and have some pretty frank conversations with her, to say, ‘Look, you know what you’re letting yourself in for is a big deal and it’s not easy for anybody.’ But at the end of the day, she chooses me and I choose her, therefore whatever we have to tackle, together or individually, will always be us together as a team.”
Meghan’s appearance at a shooting weekend in Balmoral to mark Harry’s 32nd birthday in September 2016 proved this was the start of a serious relationship, but the love affair didn’t go public for another month.
After that, a series of lowkey appearances confirmed this was no passing fling. As Meghan moved a wardrobe of clothes and a shelf of organic cookbooks into her prince’s home, a mutual friend revealed, “Harry has found the girl he wants to spend the rest of his life with.”
In November 2016, the actress was spotted wearing her boyfriend’s baseball cap as she left Kensington Palace. The next month, she and Harry were seen buying a Christmas tree together. They spent the day itself apart but reportedly celebrated the New Year together in Norway, watching the Northern Lights from a glass igloo.
In May, Meghan was Harry’s date to sister-in-law Pippa Matthews’ wedding and in September, she raised eyebrows when she confessed in an interview, “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.” Soon afterwards, the pair made their first public appearance as a couple at the Invictus Games, where they cheered on Kiwi athletes at a wheelchair tennis match.
The engagement itself happened in early November, around the time Meghan – now retired from acting – was filming her final scenes for
Suits, packing up her house in Canada and moving full-time into Nottingham Cottage.
After the happy news was announced last week, Harry said, “The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned – everything was just perfect.”
The couple are now deep in wedding preparation, with the big day only six months away. Kensington Palace has revealed that the ceremony will be held in May at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, where Harry was baptised. It’s a venue that will hold just 800 guests, compared to the 2000 who attended Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s nuptials in 2011.
The palace has also taken the unusual step of revealing that the royal family will pay for the “core aspects of
The stars were aligned – everything was just perfect’
the wedding, such as the church service, the associated music, flowers, decorations and the reception afterwards”.
Kate, who will reportedly be chief bridesmaid, is also said to be acting as an unofficial wedding planner and she will help out when Meghan meets with dress designers. A well-placed palace source tells Woman’s Day, “Meghan’s already said she wants something simple and classic with a modern twist, so it’s clear she’ll be going for something very different to Kate’s traditional Alexander McQueen gown.”
The actress has previously described the classic Narciso Rodriguez sheath worn by Carolyn Bessette when she married John F. Kennedy Jr in 1996 as her “everything goals” and while many expect a royal bride to wear a British gown, we hear Meghan will also be meeting with Lebanese designer Elie Saab, who’s said to be a front-runner to make the frock, as well the Parisian-based Delphine Manivet.
Former army helicopter pilot Harry, meanwhile, will be in full military dress, with his brother William beside him as best man. Completing the family scene, Prince George, four, and Princess Charlotte, two, will act
as pageboy and flower girl, as they did at their aunt Pippa’s wedding. The guests will likely include Barack and Michelle Obama, who were big supporters of Harry’s Invictus Games, his old army pal James Blunt, and Meghan’s close friends Serena Williams and Priyanka Chopra.
Born in Los Angeles and raised a Catholic, Meghan is in the process of attaining UK citizenship and before the big day, she will be confirmed and baptised into the Church of England. After she says “I do”, she is likely to be named the Duchess of Sussex.
Following the big royal ceremony, it’s thought Meghan will host a “second wedding” in California for all her friends and family who couldn’t attend the Windsor nuptials. Our palace source explains, “While she’s embracing royal life and has agreed to give up her career, it’s extremely important for her to have a celebration in the place she was born and bred.
“Meghan’s excited to be able to put her own stamp on it as while she’s able to have her input with their British wedding, there’s a limit to it due to royal tradition, so this second ceremony will give Meghan the chance to fully put her mark on their big day.”
And after what is bound to be a very private and romantic honeymoon, the next step will be having children. As Harry said in the interview, “Hopefully we’ll start a family in the near future.”
Our palace source says of the couple, “They’re absolutely smitten and so relieved they can finally share their happy news with the world. They can’t wait to marry next May and finally start the family they’ve been dreaming of, which Harry has told pals they won’t wait a second to start.”