On a snowy November Monday morning in London, it was the heartwarming news that royal watchers had been waiting for. “His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to [Ms. Meghan Markle.”
After a 16-month, long-distance courtship that started with a blind date, the American actress was confirmed as the next royal bride.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were “delighted for the couple”, wishing them “every happiness”. Prince Charles was “thrilled”, the Duchess of Cornwall declared “America’s loss is our gain”, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said: “It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.”
Harry and Meghan are smitten with each other.
A true gentleman, Harry “sought and received the blessing of Ms. Markle’s parents” Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, who added their congratulations in a joint statement: “We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents.”
The world’s media raced to Kensington Palace, where a beaming Harry and Meghan emerged for their engagement photocall, with their arms around each other. Royal correspondents called out their questions, asking Harry when he knew she was The One.
“The very first time we met,” he said. Was it a romantic proposal? “Very”, she giggled, showing off her diamond ring with a stone from Botswana, where the couple first holidayed together, and, in a poignant tribute to Harry’s mother, diamonds from the collection of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle as they greeted the world’s media at Kensington Palace.
The couple then gave their first television interview, a remarkably honest and affectionate insight into their whirlwind romance. They were set up by a mutual friend, believed to be fashion PR Violet von Westenholz. Meghan admitted: “I didn’t know much about him so the only thing I had asked her was… “Well, is he nice?”
After one date, they were smitten, arranging to see each other the next day. “And then it was like, right, diaries,” said Harry. We need to get the diaries out and find out how we’re going to make this work.” A few weeks later, they carved out five days for a romantic trip to Botswana. “We camped out with each other under the stars. We were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure we really got to know each other.”
The couple then flew back and forth between London and Toronto, where Meghan filmed the legal drama Suits. In London, Harry said they spent “cosy nights in front of the television, cooking dinner” at Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace, where they will now live and where Meghan revealed he proposed as they were “trying” to roast a chicken dinner. “It was just an amazing surprise, so sweet and natural, and very romantic,” said Meghan. “He got on one knee”.
It had been “incredible” to spend time with the Queen, she said, while Harry joked how Meghan had even charmed the monarch’s famous dogs: “I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at; this one walks in, absolutely nothing. Just wagging tails.” Harry felt that Meghan and Diana would have been “best mates, thick as thieves”.
But despite being a well-known actress, Meghan admitted she was shocked by the global scrutiny of their relationship: “I did not have any understanding of just what it would be like.” She also admitted that as a mixed-race woman, she found some of the reaction to her ethnicity “disheartening”.
Her acting career would now make way for “a new chapter”.
For Harry, it was fate: “The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned and everything was just perfect. This beautiful woman just tripped and fell into my life… At the end of the day, she chooses me and I choose her… whatever we have to tackle, it will always be us together as a team. We’re a fantastic team, we know we are.”
Prince Harry and Meghan at the Wheelchair Tennis at the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017.
Kensington Palace announced that Meghan would soon join Harry on their first official joint engagement. Harry’s communications secretary said Meghan wanted to get stuck into official work immediately: “You will see in the months ahead, the lead-up to the wedding, they will be undertaking a number of engagements around the country. Ms. Markle is very keen to get around the UK and learn more about the work being done in communities right across the country… learning a bit more about some of the projects Prince Harry has a connection to.”
It was also announced that upon marriage, when she is expected to be gifted the title of “Duchess” by the Queen, Meghan will become the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The Foundation raises funds and works across William, Kate and Harry’s core interests – mental health, helping disadvantaged young people, the armed forces and conservation. Meghan has worked with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and gave a speech to the UN in 2015 at which she declared “I am proud to be a woman and a feminist”, so is likely to bring her own interests to the mix.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attended the first annual Royal Foundation Forum together on February 28.
Just four days after their happy news was announced, on a freezing December day, Meghan joined Harry in Nottingham for their first official engagement together. The couple attended a charity fair for the Terence Higgins Trust World Aids Day and visited the Full Effect programme, which tackles youth violence and gang culture.
Hundreds of well-wishers braved the cold outside the Nottingham Contemporary Arts Centre to catch a glimpse of Meghan on her first royal walkabout. She greeted the excited crowds who chanted her name, introducing herself with the simple “Hi, I’m Meghan” and “I’m so happy”.
Meghan made the point of introducing herself to waiting crowds, saying: “Hi, I’m Meghan!”
Harry and Meghan often held hands and had their arms around each other, something rarely seen on official royal engagements. One royal commentator observed they were “tactile in a way that is almost unheard of in the royal family”. But Meghan had clearly been briefed in other areas of royal protocol. When asked for a selfie by one fan, she had to disappoint: “We’re not allowed.”
The newly engaged couple chose to affectionately hold hands and link arms throughout the event.
Chris O’Hanlon, a mentor at the Terence Higgins Trust, met the royal couple. “They have a very jokey attitude. They seem amazingly comfortable together. You can see that it’s a perfect match. This may have been Meghan’s first official engagement but she was a complete natural. Not only will she make a good addition to the royal family, she will make an excellent ambassador to any of the causes she puts her heart and mind to.”
“Mega star” declared the next day’s front pages, with royal commentators hailing Meghan as the “nation’s sweetheart” who made a “dazzling debut” in her royal role.
Then, in another break with royal protocol, it emerged that Meghan would become the very first royal fiancée to spend Christmas with the Queen and royal family at Sandringham, her country home in Norfolk.
That the Queen invited Meghan to do so before she officially became a member of the royal family showed how warmly she has been welcomed into the royal fold.
Harry and Meghan are thought to have stayed with William and Kate at Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham estate, before they all joined the Queen on Christmas Day.
After the traditional morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church, Meghan, looking understandably a little nervous as Harry whispered words of encouragement to her, joined other members of the royal family on the steps at the church’s entrance, and for the first time in public, dropped a curtsey to the Queen as she left church in a car – protocol for female members of the royal family. Then it was back to Sandringham House for the lunch, before the Queen’s guests gathered together at 3pm to watch her Christmas broadcast.
Meghan is all smiles as she joins Harry and other royals at the Christmas morning service at Sandringham.
Meghan once said: “I’ve never wanted to be a lady who lunches. I’ve always wanted to be a woman who works,” and she has been true to her word. In January, they visited a community radio station in south London, and undertook an away day to the Welsh capital, Cardiff, where schoolchildren swamped them in “group hugs”.
Prince Harry and Meghan wow the Welsh on day and night engagements in Cardiff.
In early February, they joined forces at the Endeavour Fund awards in London, which celebrates the sporting achievements of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. Meghan presented one of the awards, but when she and her co-presenter couldn’t find the list of nominees, she burst into giggles, to the amusement of the audience and her fiancé. They then embarked on their first official joint visit to Scotland, including a trip to Edinburgh Castle.
A friend of Harry’s said: “You can see how proud he is to have Meghan by his side, how happy he is to finally have someone to share the pressures of a public role. To be with a modern, confident woman who has a real sense of herself is a huge asset for him and the royal family.”
Prince Harry and Meghan attended the 2018 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
Royal biographer Penny Junor agrees: “Meghan will be a great boost to the House of Windsor. The fact that she is mixed-race, American and a career woman are real positives and a reflection of our multi-cultural society.”
“There was a danger that the monarchy only represented the privileged few, but by being who she is, Meghan will be a great leveller. She will increase the constituency of people who are interested in the royal family, because so many more people will identify with her.”
And what about “that” wedding? Harry and Meghan will marry in front of around 800 guests at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, on May 19.
Royal sources say Windsor had become a “very special place” for the couple, who spent time there together during their courtship. Harry was also christened there in 1984 and the 15th-century Gothic chapel has played host to the weddings of the Queen’s youngest son,the Earl of Wessex, and her grandson, Peter Phillips. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall also held the blessing of their marriage there in 2005.
Royal weddings are traditionally held on a Friday, but the couple have chosen a Saturday, giving the public an opportunity to celebrate with them.
“They will be making sure it reflects who they are as a couple,” says Kensington Palace Communications Secretary Jason Knauf. “They are very much looking forward to the day and to being able to share their celebrations with the public. This wedding, like all weddings, will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters of the bride and groom.”
Just as Harry was best man at his brother’s wedding in 2011, so William is widely tipped to be Harry’s right-hand man on his big day. Prince George and Princess Charlotte will almost certainly be page-boy and flower girl, and could be joined by Ivy Mulroney, the daughter of Toronto-based Jessica Mulroney, Meghan’s stylist and one of her closest friends.
Prince Harry was best man at his brother’s wedding.
Following the wedding service, the couple will undertake a carriage procession through the streets of Windsor, which will no doubt be packed with well-wishers hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.
Meanwhile, there will be a reception at St George’s Hall, close to the chapel, for the guests from the congregation which Harry and Meghan will join after their carriage procession. Later that evening, Prince Charles will host an intimate private reception for his son and daughter-in-law and their close friends and family with a sit-down dinner.
And in a striking departure from royal tradition, Meghan is said to be planning a speech at the evening reception in place of her father. Thomas is expected to walk his daughter up the aisle, but being intensely private and averse to the spotlight, less likely to deliver a traditional father-of-the-bride speech.
The new bride is planning an “affectionate” tribute to her husband and will offer thanks to the Queen, her family and friends. “The feeling is that if Meghan’s father doesn’t speak for her, she wants to have the chance to thank her husband and everyone who has supported them,” a source says. “Harry thinks it’s a great idea.”
After their wedding, Australia may be one of the first countries to host the newlyweds, when they attend the Invictus Games in Sydney in October. On the day their engagement was announced, Meghan said they had “so much work to do in Commonwealth” and there is talk of their Sydney visit being extended to a wider tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle at the UK trials for the Invictus Games in Bath.
Aside from royal duties, children are likely to be high on their agenda. Harry, 33, has often spoken of his longing for children, and gazing at Meghan, 36, during their engagement interview, he reaffirmed his desire for fatherhood: “Hopefully we will start a family in the near future.”
Here’s to that new chapter.
