THE LOOK OF LOVE
‘I knew she was the one the very first time we met’
PRINCE Harry and bride-to-be Meghan Markle agreed the “stars were aligned” for their whirlwind romance as news of their engagement was announced yesterday.
The Prince said he instantly knew the American actress was the girl for him. Standing hand in hand in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, Harry, 33, said: “When did I know she was the one? From the very first time we met.”
And in an interview later the Prince confided that he had popped the question after going down on one knee as the pair cooked a roast chicken at his cottage.
The happy couple said Harry’s mother Princess Diana was “part of this with us” and they were keen to start a family soon.
Beaming Meghan, 36, showed off her £200,000 engagement ring – designed by the Prince and containing diamonds from Diana’s personal collection.
THE Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh led the messages of congratulations after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding announcement was made, wishing the couple “every happiness”.
The Queen and Philip, who celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary earlier this month, spoke of their delight for the couple.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness.”
Harry and Meghan’s longanticipated engagement was officially announced by the Prince of Wales at 10am yesterday with a statement saying the couple, who have been dating for 16 months, will marry next spring.
Sources said the wedding is likely to take place in March with the Duchess of Cambridge due to give birth to her third child in April.
The Clarence House statement announcing their engagement read: “His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle.
“The wedding will take place in Spring 2018. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.
“His Royal Highness and Ms Markle became engaged in London earlier this month.
“Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty the Queen and other close members of his family. Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle’s parents.
“The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.”
Harry, 33, has been dating the American actress, 36, who found fame in the US legal drama Suits since July 2016.
Their 16-month romance blossomed when they met through a mutual female friend in London and went on a blind date. They fell in love spending time together at her home in Toronto and his at Kensington Palace during breaks in her filming schedule and his royal duties.
In a revealing television interview last night the pair admitted neither knew who the other was when they went on their first date.
Meghan has moved into Harry’s two-bedroom cottage at the palace where he proposed a few weeks ago.
Visiting Poundbury in Dorset, the Prince of Wales said he was “thrilled” and “very happy indeed” for his younger son and Meghan.
In a statement, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said: “We are very excited for Harry and Meghan.
“It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.”
Meghan’s parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland issued a statement through Kensington Palace saying: “We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry.
“We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.”
Harry’s uncle Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, also sent his congratulations.
“The best of news. Nothing better than seeing a thoroughly lovely man truly happy,” he said on Twitter.
Meghan will become an HRH and a senior royal after marrying Harry and joining the Windsors.
She is expected to become a Duchess – just like Kate Middleton did when she became the Duchess of Cambridge after saying her vows in 2011.
But unlike Kate, Meghan is not a future Queen.
With the arrival of the Cambridges’ children, Harry is too far down the line of succession to have a realistic prospect of being monarch.
Ms Markle will most probably become HRH the Duchess of Sussex, if, as expected, Harry is made the Duke of Sussex by the Queen on the day of his marriage.
Speculation that a wedding was imminent stepped up a gear a few weeks ago when Harry took Ms Markle to meet his grandmother the Queen for tea at Buckingham Palace.
The Prince had to obtain the monarch’s permission to wed Ms Markle, thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which requires the first six people in line to the throne to seek the monarch’s consent.
A church wedding beckons for the couple after the Archbishop of Canterbury said the pair had “chosen to make their vows before God”.
Possible venues include St Paul’s Cathedral where Harry’s parents married in 1981, Westminster Abbey and St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The Most Rev Justin Welby, who is expected to perform the ceremony, said he was “absolutely delighted” to hear the news of the royal wedding. Prime Minister Theresa May offered her “very warmest congratulations”, wishing the couple “great happiness for the future”.
There are “no plans” for an extra Bank Holiday to mark the wedding, Downing Street has said.
Theresa May’s official spokesman said: “There isn’t a precedent in this area.”
When news of their relationship first broke in our sister paper the Sunday Express in October 2016, Prince Harry was described as being happier than he had been in many years.