As it happened: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle engaged - Is this finally the modern bride the royal family needs?

The wedding will take place in spring 2018

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have announced their engagement

Prince Harry is to marry his American actor girlfriend Meghan Markle, Clarence House has announced.

The official announcement said: “His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle. The wedding will take place in spring 2018. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.

“His Royal Highness and Ms Markle became engaged in London earlier this month. Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty The Queen and other close members of his 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 fifth in line to the throne has been dating Markle since last summer and the 36-year-old actor is rumoured to be moving to the UK after quitting the hit US show Suits which she rose to fame for.

Prince Harry said he was "delighted to announce" the engagement and had gained the blessing of Markle's parents in a statement.

Speculation of a major royal announcement has grown in recent weeks as rumours about the couple's engagement have mounted.

Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland celebrated news of the engagement in a statement issued by Kensington Palace.

"We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person," they said.

"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."

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh “are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness".

Key Points

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce Royal engagement
• Meghan Markle to quit Suits after engagement to Prince Harry
• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wedding: When will it happen?

[27 November 2017 14:56 · Lizzie Dearden]

Negative comments Markle made about US President Donald Trump are expected to receive renewed attention in the wake of the engagement announcement.

It is considered unlikely that Mr Trump will be invited to the duo's wedding.

[27 November 2017 15:15 · Lizzie Dearden]

[27 November 2017 15:30 · Lizzie Dearden]

Unless the Queen steps in any children born to the newly engaged couple will be a lord or lady rather than a prince or princess.

[27 November 2017 15:49 · Lizzie Dearden]

Markle was pictured wearing her engagement ring for the first time during the pair's debut public appearance as an engaged couple this afternoon.

The ring is rumoured to have been designed by the Prince himself and made from diamonds that belonged to his late mother, Princess Diana.

[27 November 2017 16:10 · Lizzie Dearden]

Markle was previously married to film producer Trevor Engelson but the pair split in 2013 in a "no-fault" divorce after being married for two years.

[27 November 2017 18:04 · Lizzie Dearden]

"It happened a few weeks ago", Prince Harry says of his proposal, revealing they were enjoying a quiet night in "roasting chicken" when he popped the question."It was such an amazing surprise," Markle says in a relaxed interview with the BBC's Michal Hussein. Harry says "the stars were aligned" after the pair were set up on a blind date. "We were introduced by a mutual friend," Harry reveals saying they had one or two meetings before he was able to persuade her to join him in Botswana. "Then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial."

[27 November 2017 18:09 · Lizzie Dearden]

"I'd never even heard about her," says Harry on his wife-to-be's acting career in their joint BBC interview. "It was just a choice. Very early on we realised we were going to commit to each other," says Markle on their decision to have a long distance relationship while she was filming Suits in Canada. The Prince said he tried to "warn" her what she was letting herself in for regarding the UK media. "There was a misconception that because I had worked in the entertainment industry that this was something I would be familiar with," Markle says.

[27 November 2017 18:19 · Lizzie Dearden]

Markle reveals she has met the Queen, calling her "an incredible woman." She agrees that the Queen's corgis took to her straight away. The Prince says all his family have welcomed his fiancee into the royal fold: "The whole family have come together and given me a huge amount of support."

[27 November 2017 18:22 · Lizzie Dearden]

Markle reveals her family were "concerned" when she first became involved with the Prince, "because we very quickly got swept up in a media storm." The Prince reveals the diamonds on either side of the main stone on the engagement ring are from his late mother's ring.

"The ring is - is obviously yellow gold because that's what - her favourite and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana and the - the little diamonds either side are from my mother's jewellery collection to make sure that she's with us on this - on this crazy journey together. "

[27 November 2017 18:40 · Lizzie Dearden]

Prince Harry reveals he proposed to Meghan Markle while cooking roast chicken