How’s the engagement brewing,
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle appear to have moved a step closer to a royal engagement amid claims they met the Queen for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace.
The couple, who have been dating for 15 months, are said to have spent an informal hour with the Queen in her private apartments at the palace last Thursday.
They are said to have been whisked into the premises in a Ford Galaxy with blacked-out windows in an attempt to avoid their presence becoming more widely known.
Palace officials refused to confirm or deny the meeting and there was no independent verification, but they will inevitably add to speculation that an engagement before Christmas and a 2018 wedding are on the cards.
In an interview last month, US actress Meghan, 36, said: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.”
It is not the first time that it has been claimed that Harry has introduced Meghan to his 91-year-old grandmother. Last month, sources said Harry introduced them at Balmoral, the Queen’s Highland retreat, although friends of the Prince later cast doubt on the stories.
But royal insiders have long accepted that it is now only a question of when, not if, they will get engaged. Harry, 33, adores his grandmother and will have been keen to introduce Meghan to her when the time was right.
It is not just a matter of courtesy. Under royal marriage rules updated in 2013, the Queen must approve the marriages of the first six people in line to the throne.
Service
Harry is currently fifth in line behind Princes Charles, William, George and Princess Charlotte, but drops to sixth when William and Kate’s third child, due in April, is born.
The fact that Meghan, who attended a Roman Catholic high school, is a divorcee is no longer considered a huge impediment since the wedding of Charles and Camilla in 2005.
Meghan was the wife of Trevor Engleson, a film producer, for two years before the couple ended their marriage in 2013.
It is possible she and Harry could get married at Westminster Abbey, but many think it more likely that they will follow Charles and Camilla’s example and marry in a civil ceremony at Windsor, followed by a religious service at St George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle.
A summer wedding after William and Kate’s new baby is born is thought most likely.
The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in November and although there will be no national celebration, Harry and Meghan may want to wait until after that landmark before announcing their nuptials.
Many bookmakers will now only accept bets on what month the announcement is made.