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Prince Harry to marry Meghan Markle Prince Harry to marry Meghan Markle
(35 minutes later)
Prince Harry is to marry his American actor girlfriend Meghan Markle, Clarence House has announced. Prince Harry is to marry his American actor girlfriend Meghan Markle in spring next year, 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 the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle,” it said in a statement on Monday.
“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 ceremony is likely to be conducted by Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, who said he was delighted by the news and had been impressed by Harry’s “immense love for his family”.
“The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.” Harry’s brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate, said: “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.”
Fifth in line to the throne, Harry, 33, has been dating the 36-year-old star, who found fame in the US legal drama Suits, since the summer of 2016. Clarence House said the couple got engaged in London this month. They were expected to show off the engagement ring at a photo call later on Monday.
Their 16-month relationship began when they met through mutual friends in London and the pair have been particularly close in recent months, with Markle staying regularly at Harry’s home at Kensington Palace. A date and venue for the wedding will have been decided already, with March being the most likely month, leaving enough time to ensure Kate is not about to give birth to her third child.
In September 2017, Markle spoke publicly about her relationship with the prince for the first time, telling Vanity Fair magazine they were “really happy and in love”. The couple would live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.
The actor also revealed the pair had been dating for six months before their relationship became public, since when the relationship “has had its challenges”. News of the wedding will prompt a media frenzy that is likely to further test Harry’s relationship with the press. The prince, 33, spoke out about the way Markle, who is divorced, was portrayed when news of the relationship became public just over a year ago.
In an unprecedented statement, Harry attacked the British press a year ago for introducing “racial overtones” into the reporting of their relationship, and condemned “the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments”. He condemned some of the newspaper reports and comment pieces as racist – Markle, 36, is mixed race – and sexist. His spokesman criticised the “racial undertones of comment pieces” and referred to “the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers”.
Markle has written about her heritage on her website, describing herself as biracial and “half black and half white”, with her father, Thomas, being white and her mother, Doria Ragland, black. Harry also complained of “a smear on the front page” of the Sun, which ran still images of Markle in the television drama Suits appearing on Pornhub, an adult website. It was headlined “Harry girl’s on Pornhub” even though what was posted were clips of intimate scenes from the programme, and not pornography.
In a statement Markle’s parents said they were “incredibly happy” with the couple’s engagement, adding: “We wish them a lifetime of happiness.” The news sparked a torrent of vitriol against Markle on Twitter and other social media platforms as well as in public comments below online news stories.
“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. Markle has spoken of her heritage as a source of pride. “My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African-American,” she has said in the past. “To say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman.”
“We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.” Her parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, said in a statement on Monday: “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 ofhappiness and are very excited for their future together.”
Markle and Harry were reportedly introduced by the consultant Markus Anderson in 2016. Their relationship became public after about six months.
In September this year, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Markle spoke about her relationship with Harry, saying: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love. We were very quietly dating for about six months before it became news, and I was working during that whole time, and the only thing that changed was people’s perception.”
In the same month, the couple made their first public appearance, at the Invictus Games in Toronto.
The statement from Clarence House said: “Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty the Queen and other close members of his family.”
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh “are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness”, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh “are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness”, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
Prime Minister Theresa May offered her “very warmest congratulations”, wishing the couple “great happiness for the future”. Theresa May offered her “very warmest congratulations” to the couple.
“I would like to offer my very warmest congratulations to HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their engagement,” said Mrs May in a statement. “This is a time of huge celebration and excitement for two people in love and, on behalf of myself, the government and the country, I wish them great happiness for the future,” the prime minister said in a statement.
“This is a time of huge celebration and excitement for two people in love and, on behalf of myself, the Government and the country, I wish them great happiness for the future.”