Sorry ladies, Prince Harry is out of the market.
Britain’s most eligible former bachelor is soon to wed Meghan Markle, a Hollywood actress best known for her role in the popular courtroom TV series Suits.
Prince Harry proposed to his wife to meet up for a roast chicken dinner sometime in 2017. The couple however revealed the news on November 27, 2017, with the wedding due to take place on May 19, 2018 at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in England.
With the impending nuptials being the hottest topic on everyone’s lips, here’s everything you need to know about Prince Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle, how they met and the Royal Family’s receptivity to his future wife.
How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Met
Prince Harry first met Markle on an unblind date in London in July 2016, when they were introduced by mutual friend Markus Anderson. Different reports, however, say it was Harry’s friend Violet von Westenholz who introduced them, while others speculate it was fashion designer Mischa Nonoo.
The couple revealed that they hit it off immediately and decided to plan to see each other after that date. Their second date was a trip to Africa about three or four weeks later. Prince Harry, in one of his interviews, said he was able to convince her to join him in Botswana, where they had camped “under the stars”.
He added: “We were really alone, which was essential for me in order to be able to know each other.”
After a few months of quiet dating, the news finally broke that Prince Harry was dating an American actress.
Reaction and first public appearance
The 35-year-old prince, who is the fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, made his first public appearance with Meghan in September 2016, at the opening ceremony of the Invictus International Games in Toronto, Canada.
Following the event, Meghan is being abused on social media with sexist, racist and defamatory stories being posted about her. Meghan is divorced and was supposed to be in a relationship with someone else when she and Harry started seeing each other.
This prompted the prince to come to her defense by issuing a very worded statement, first confirming their relationship and then pleading with the public to stop the ‘wave of abuse and harassment’ directed at him, including a ‘smear smear’. not specified on the front page of a national newspaper”.
The couple took a step back from the public eye, only to reappear before Christmas in December 2016. Harry and Markle were pictured shopping for a Christmas tree in London. A few days later, they were spotted again going on a date to see the hit play; The curious incident of the dog in the night.
Since then, the couple have been spotted arm in arm, attending family events and meeting different family members.
The receptivity of the royal family to Meghan Markle
As Prince Harry is the heir to the throne, he is legally determined to secure royal permission to marry under the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.
Previously, members of the royal family were not allowed to marry divorcees or commoners, that is, anyone who does not have noble blood. This has however changed with the new law which will only require the Queen’s approval. If the queen doesn’t approve of the wedding, it won’t happen. But luckily for Miss Markle, the Queen gave her blessings.
Kensington Palace, in a statement announcing the engagement, revealed that Harry had ‘informed Her Majesty, the Queen and other close family members’ before revealing the news to the public. He added that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh expressed their joy and gave the couple their blessings.
The statement also confirmed that the prince sought and received the blessing of Meghan’s parents before asking her.
Prince Harry’s father, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, expressed their delight at the exciting news. They said, in a joint statement, that they were both delighted.
Harry proposed to Meghan with an engagement ring which he designed himself. The center stone of the ring comes from Botswana, where they went camping together at the start of their relationship. The ring also features two diamonds on either side of the centerpiece, which Harry revealed came from his mother, Princess Diana’s jewelry collection.
What’s next for the couple?
Meghan Markle has not publicly identified with any particular church or religion. Her father is a member of the Episcopal Church of the United States, while her mother is a member of the Protestant religion. However, she was educated at a Catholic girls’ school and was once married to a Jew.
To marry Prince Harry, Markle will need to be baptized and confirmed in the Church of England before the wedding. She also started to become a British citizen, retired completely and deleted all her social media accounts. It is unclear whether she would retain her US citizenship. Kensington Palace said the decision had not yet been made.
When Meghan marries Harry, she will take on the title of Duchess, just like William’s wife, Kate. If Harry manages to become king, she will take the title of queen consort.