Harry and Meghan

A very modern Royal couple

A WEEK after his grandparents celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary, the goodwill generated by Prince Harry’s engagement to American actress Meghan Markle showed the public’s enduring affection for the Royal Family.

Though today’s modern Britain could not be more different to the post-war austerity of November 1947 when the then-Princess Elizabeth married the Duke of Edinburgh, there is genuine joy that Harry has found happiness at last.

This is a young man who tragically lost his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, when just 12 years of age and then had to contend with growing up, and coming to terms with his demons and occasional misdemeanours, in the public limelight.

Yet, in doing so, he has become a thoroughly modern Prince who has changed the public’s perception of previously unfashionable causes – the inspirational Invictus Games for injured military personnel exemplifies how he uses his Royal status to help the less fortunate, while his recent visit to Leeds to champion mental health had a lasting impact on all those that he met.

In Miss Markle, he has clearly found a soulmate who will bring a new dynamic to the Royal Family’s work, and rapport with the public, as the Queen and Prince Philip relinquish their duties. It goes without saying that the whole of Yorkshire wishes Prince Harry and his fiancée every happiness – and looks forward to welcoming the new Royal couple to the county.