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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/27/prince-harry-fought-carve-life-wanted-royal-engagement
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| Prince who has fought to carve out the life he wanted | Prince who has fought to carve out the life he wanted |
| (3 months later) | |
| A couple of weeks ago, Prince Harry told his closest aides he was finally engaged to marry Meghan Markle and that they should start planning Monday’s announcement. His fiancee was about to wrap on filming in Toronto for her hit legal drama Suits and would soon be in London, this time for good. His wait to find a life partner was finally over. | A couple of weeks ago, Prince Harry told his closest aides he was finally engaged to marry Meghan Markle and that they should start planning Monday’s announcement. His fiancee was about to wrap on filming in Toronto for her hit legal drama Suits and would soon be in London, this time for good. His wait to find a life partner was finally over. |
| The 33-year old has been unusually candid for a royal about the difficulty of his search, making clear his status has put some girlfriends off. In 2012, he told a US broadcaster: “I’m 27 years old and not so much searching for someone to fulfil the role but looking for someone to take it on.” | The 33-year old has been unusually candid for a royal about the difficulty of his search, making clear his status has put some girlfriends off. In 2012, he told a US broadcaster: “I’m 27 years old and not so much searching for someone to fulfil the role but looking for someone to take it on.” |
| It was a statement that captured some of the ambivalence he has felt about being a royal. He has said he recognises the power and influence his place in the royal family affords him, but he has sometimes been frustrated by the forensic public attention that comes with it. In an interview this summer, he admitted that he once thought of quitting his royal duties, saying: “I felt I wanted out but then decided to stay in and work out a role for myself.” | It was a statement that captured some of the ambivalence he has felt about being a royal. He has said he recognises the power and influence his place in the royal family affords him, but he has sometimes been frustrated by the forensic public attention that comes with it. In an interview this summer, he admitted that he once thought of quitting his royal duties, saying: “I felt I wanted out but then decided to stay in and work out a role for myself.” |
| Seen through the prism of his romantic life, it is little surprise he should feel that way. Chelsy Davy, the Zimbabwean-born farmer’s daughter who he dated on and off for around six years until 2011, was reported to have concluded that the life of a Duchess was not for her. Then the dancer and actress Cressida Bonas, who he saw for two years until 2014, found the public scrutiny “awful”, according to Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer who is also friends with Bonas’s mother. | Seen through the prism of his romantic life, it is little surprise he should feel that way. Chelsy Davy, the Zimbabwean-born farmer’s daughter who he dated on and off for around six years until 2011, was reported to have concluded that the life of a Duchess was not for her. Then the dancer and actress Cressida Bonas, who he saw for two years until 2014, found the public scrutiny “awful”, according to Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer who is also friends with Bonas’s mother. |
| “Every time she walked down the street she could hear people criticising her,” Seward said at the 2016 Henley literary festival. | “Every time she walked down the street she could hear people criticising her,” Seward said at the 2016 Henley literary festival. |
| When last November the press went into overdrive about his new relationship with Markle, which had begun a few months earlier, he seemed to fear it was happening all over again. He decided that this time he would fight back. | When last November the press went into overdrive about his new relationship with Markle, which had begun a few months earlier, he seemed to fear it was happening all over again. He decided that this time he would fight back. |
| The pair meet in London through friends and begin a relationship. | The pair meet in London through friends and begin a relationship. |
| News breaks that the prince and Markle are dating. | News breaks that the prince and Markle are dating. |
| Kensington Palace confirms in an unprecedented statement that they are dating. The prince attacks the media over its “abuse and harassment” of his girlfriend. | Kensington Palace confirms in an unprecedented statement that they are dating. The prince attacks the media over its “abuse and harassment” of his girlfriend. |
| Markle is spotted in London amid unconfirmed reports she is enjoying her first stay at Kensington Palace since the relationship was made public. | Markle is spotted in London amid unconfirmed reports she is enjoying her first stay at Kensington Palace since the relationship was made public. |
| Markle reportedly meets the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte for the first time in London. | Markle reportedly meets the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte for the first time in London. |
| The engagement looks set when Markle graces the cover of US magazine Vanity Fair and speaks openly about Harry for the first time, revealing: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.” | The engagement looks set when Markle graces the cover of US magazine Vanity Fair and speaks openly about Harry for the first time, revealing: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.” |
| Markle makes her first appearance at an official engagement attended by the prince when she attends the Invictus Games opening ceremony in Toronto, Canada – although the pair sit about 18 seats apart. | Markle makes her first appearance at an official engagement attended by the prince when she attends the Invictus Games opening ceremony in Toronto, Canada – although the pair sit about 18 seats apart. |
| It emerges that the prince has taken Markle to meet his grandmother, the Queen, whose permission they need to marry. They met over afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace. | It emerges that the prince has taken Markle to meet his grandmother, the Queen, whose permission they need to marry. They met over afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace. |
| The prince’s aides are reported to have been told to start planning for a royal wedding, with senior members of the royal family asked to look at their diaries to shortlist a series of suitable weekends in 2018. | The prince’s aides are reported to have been told to start planning for a royal wedding, with senior members of the royal family asked to look at their diaries to shortlist a series of suitable weekends in 2018. |
| Markle is spotted in London, prompting speculation she is preparing for an engagement announcement. | Markle is spotted in London, prompting speculation she is preparing for an engagement announcement. |
| Clarence House announces the engagement, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh say they are “delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness”. | Clarence House announces the engagement, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh say they are “delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness”. |
| The couple marry before a celebrity-studded congregation at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle. | |
| He issued an extraordinary statement, displaying new maturity, saying he was “deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her” and that “this past week has seen a line crossed”. | He issued an extraordinary statement, displaying new maturity, saying he was “deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her” and that “this past week has seen a line crossed”. |
| His own history with the press had been fraught. In early adulthood, Fleet Street traced his multiple indiscretions and disgraces. He lashed out at a photographer outside London’s Pangaea nightclub in the early hours, and dressed up aged 20 as a Nazi at a friend’s “colonial and native” fancy dress party. | His own history with the press had been fraught. In early adulthood, Fleet Street traced his multiple indiscretions and disgraces. He lashed out at a photographer outside London’s Pangaea nightclub in the early hours, and dressed up aged 20 as a Nazi at a friend’s “colonial and native” fancy dress party. |
| They were serious trangressions for which he later apologised. But he was also the victim of phone hacking and the impact of the death of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was 12, chased by press photographers into a Paris road tunnel, should not be underestimated. | They were serious trangressions for which he later apologised. But he was also the victim of phone hacking and the impact of the death of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was 12, chased by press photographers into a Paris road tunnel, should not be underestimated. |
| He spoke openly this year about the mental health problems he has negotiated as a result of the bereavement. He said he sought counselling because life in the public eye left him feeling he could be “very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions”. It was a watershed moment in the development of the prince’s public persona. | He spoke openly this year about the mental health problems he has negotiated as a result of the bereavement. He said he sought counselling because life in the public eye left him feeling he could be “very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions”. It was a watershed moment in the development of the prince’s public persona. |
| After some years as a playboy prince, Harry found meaningful work as an Apache helicopter pilot in the army, serving two tours in Afghanistan, in 2008 and 2013. He also found purpose through his charitable causes Sentebale, supporting children and young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana, and the Invictus Games for injured service personnel. His search for a stable relationship has been much harder. Now, in Markle – an outsider to the British establishment and famous in her own right – he has found it. | After some years as a playboy prince, Harry found meaningful work as an Apache helicopter pilot in the army, serving two tours in Afghanistan, in 2008 and 2013. He also found purpose through his charitable causes Sentebale, supporting children and young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana, and the Invictus Games for injured service personnel. His search for a stable relationship has been much harder. Now, in Markle – an outsider to the British establishment and famous in her own right – he has found it. |
| Prince Harry | Prince Harry |
| Meghan, Duchess of Sussex | |
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