Prince Harry and Meghan Markle engaged to marry in 2018

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle engaged to marry in 2018



Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have today announced they are engaged and will marry early next year after days of fevered speculation that he had proposed to his American girlfriend.



The couple will appear together on national TV in the UK for the first time this evening to discuss their engagement and whirlwind relationship of 16 months.



Harry, 33, who revealed a year ago he had fallen for the actress after a four-month secret relationship, proposed to Meghan, 36, in London earlier this month, a statement from Harry’s father Prince Charles revealed this morning.



Royal protocol dictated that fifth in line to the throne Harry had to ask his grandmother the Queen for permission to marry and she agreed in the month where she celebrated her own 70th wedding anniversary.



In a statement Her Majesty and Prince Philip said they are 'delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness'.



Harry and his American fiancee, who divorced her first husband in 2013, will move into Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace next door to his brother William and sister-in-law Kate.



The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said in a joint statement: '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'. Their father Prince Charles said he was "thrilled" and "very happy indeed" for them.



Harry also asked Meghan's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, who divorced when their daughter was six, for her hand in marriage before popping the question a few weeks ago, it emerged today.



They said: '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'.



Harry and Meghan have not said where they will marry but most senior royals marry at Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral or the chapel at Windsor Castle. Sources have said it is likely to be a church wedding.



Meghan could become a princess or alternatively be given the title Duchess of Sussex when she marries the fifth in line to the throne and joins the royal family.

But they are likely to wait until Prince William and Kate have their third child, which is due in April. 



Bookmakers refused to take any more bets on the couple getting engaged last week as Meghan landed in London and started moving her belongings and two dogs to the UK.



Social media went into meltdown but they have had to wait until today to hear that the fifth-in-line to the throne has proposed to his actress girlfriend.



A Kensington Palace spokesman tweeted today: 'The Prince of Wales has announced the engagement of Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle.



'Prince Harry and Ms Markle became engaged in London earlier this month. Prince Harry has informed The Queen and other close members of The Royal 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.



'The wedding will take place in spring 2018. Further details will be announced in due course.'



They have chosen to state they are getting married just before they spend their first proper Christmas together and will probably head to Sandringham to spend it with the Queen and the royal family.



A statement by Miss Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland said: '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.



'We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.'



The couple will pose for photographs at Kensington Palace later this afternoon and they will also take part in a broadcast interview to be aired this evening.



The actress and model did not attend the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary celebrations together - but she has met Her Majesty for tea.



And royal protocol dictates that Harry will have had to ask his grandmother to let him marry.



The Suits star is set to move to London having quit the show and has already left her apartment in Toronto.



She is shipping her belongings to the UK including her beloved dogs - a beagle named Guy and a labrador-shepherd named Bogart.



Initially at least, the newly-engaged couple are likely to move in together at Kensington Palace, where Prince William, Kate, Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be their neighbours.