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As it happenedended

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

Maya Oppenheim
Monday 27 November 2017 11:38 GMT
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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".

Mixed-race, American – and vocally anti-Trump: is Meghan Markle the breath of fresh air the stuffy royals need?The IndependentThe announcement of Prince Harry’s widely anticipated engagement to the US actress Meghan Markle sent the world’s media into paroxysms of excitement. An erupting volcano in Bali was a mere trifle by comparison. Indeed, with all eyes on the betrothed couple as they took a photocall in the grounds of Kensington Palace, the volcano might just as well have gone back to sleep.

Lizzie Dearden27 November 2017 19:00

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement could boost by UK tourist industryThe IndependentThe UK tourism industry has welcomed the impending royal wedding — and the “free publicity” that the event next spring will bring. The director of VisitBritain, Patricia Yates, said: “Congratulations to Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle on their engagement. This milestone event undoubtedly puts the global media spotlight on Britain.” A VisitLondon spokesperson said: “Across the UK it’s estimated that tourism linked to Royal residences such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle generates more than £500 million a year and attracts more than 2.7 million visitors.”

Lizzie Dearden27 November 2017 22:31

Meghan Markle's father won the lottery when she was nine

Meghan Markle's father won the lottery when she was nineMeghan Markle may be the envy of many after becoming engaged to Prince Harry, but luck has smiled on the American actress throughout her life, with her father winning the lottery in her childhood. Her older half brother, Tom Jr, recently revealed their father, Tom Sr, won an estimated £560,000 ($750,000) in a Californian state lottery in 1990 when the actress was just nine years old.

Jon di Paolo28 November 2017 00:56

Tory MP suggests Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should be given a Royal Yacht to 'sail the sea with'

A Tory MP wants Prince Harry to get a royal yacht for his engagement 'to sail around the sea with'A Tory MP has renewed calls for the commissioning of a new royal yacht following the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Conservative Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, noted there is no Britannia yacht and suggested the royal couple could require "something to sail around the sea with".

Jon di Paolo28 November 2017 01:13

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