Harry’s rugby date with a Princess... But it wasn’t the beauty you were expecting
PRINCE Harry took his seat beside a glamorous Princess at the rugby yesterday - but it wasn’t the beauty many had been expecting.
Speculation was rife that his new girlfriend, American actress Meghan Markle, would join him at Twickenham in London for their first public appearance as a couple.
Instead Harry, 32, sat with Princess Charlene of Monaco, 38, mum-of-two and wife of Prince Albert, 58.
She was cheering on South Africa, where she was raised, as they lost heavily to England.
Earlier Harry laid a poppy wreath at the stadium gates to mark Armistice Day, with onlookers expecting Meghan, 35, to join him in the stands as the match kicked off.
But the brunette was nowhere to be seen – instead opting to remain at Kensington Palace where she has been staying with Harry.
It is likely she will meet Prince William this week, as he is in London on business.
But Prince Charles is said to have returned to his home at Highgrove, Gloucestershire, following his official visit to Bahrain.
Meghan took time out from filming TV legal drama Suits to fly to London this week.
She was pictured at an upmarket food store in Kensington High Street before walking back to the nearby palace, where she was welcomed inside by a security official. A source revealed: “A formal audience with The Queen or an invitation to a full gathering of the royal family is still a long way off. “That sort of thing would not usually happen until an engagement. But Harry is incredibly close to his father and brother and will want to introduce Meghan to them – and he will be keen for her to meet them, too. “He is really very down to earth and he values the closeness of his immediate family very highly.” Harry and Meghan have been dating since this summer and are said to be extremely fond of each other. He shocked royal watchers this week when he released an unprecedented statement to the media, confirming their relationship and speaking of his desire to “protect” Meghan from the intense scrutiny of being in the public eye.
In a lengthy statement released by Kensington Palace officials, Harry described Meghan as “his girlfriend” and added that he had been upset by “the racial undertones of comment pieces and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments”. Meghan is mixed race.
The statement added: “Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him, Ms Markle should be subjected to such a storm.”
After laying his wreath at the stadium’s commemorative “rose and poppies” gates, Harry was given a poppy made out of a First World War German artillery shell and inscribed with his name and military number.
Taken aback, Harry told the artist Harry Gray: “That is amazing, thank you very, very much.” Mr Gray added: “He really liked it but he said he had spent 10 years trying to forget his service number and I had just reminded him of it.”