Another Royal Wedding!

Marwa Hameed, Editor

On Monday, November 27, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement was announced to the world. The highly awaited engagement was revealed in a statement which released by Clarence House, the office and official home of Prince Harry’s father the Prince of Wales, in which it said that “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.”

Hours after their engagement was announced, the newly engaged couple appeared for a celebratory photocall in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace. Markle showed off her diamond and gold engagement ring, designed by Prince Harry himself, with the central diamond being sourced from mines in Botswana, as Africa holds a special place for the couple, and the outer two smaller diamonds from jewelry of the Princes’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

The besotted couple was interviewed by the BBC’s Mishal Husain later on, where they both disclosed that they met on a blind date set up by a mutual female friend of theirs. Prince Harry noted that “the fact that I fell in love with Meghan so quickly was confirmation for me that all the stars were aligned,” he said, while holding Markle’s hand. “Everything was just perfect.” Markle is known for playing paralegal Rachel Zane in the hit TV series “Suits” for the past 7 years but confirmed during the interview that she has retired as an actress and will focus on humanitarian issues and philanthropy after her marriage to Prince Harry. Other than her work as an actress, she was named the UN Women’s Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership in 2015 on International Women’s Day.

The following day after the photocall and official announcement, Kensington Palace also confirmed that the wedding would take place in May of next year (with no specific date yet), with the couple tying the knot at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Upon her marriage to Prince Harry, Markle will become Princess Henry of Wales and should the Queen bestow a dukedom to Prince Harry, she will also be a Duchess as well. The wedding will be televised but will not be a bank holiday like the wedding of Prince Harry’s brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Despite not being a bank holiday in the U.K., the wedding is set to be a massive boost to tourism.

 

Next year is expected to be a very exciting year for the Royal Family! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set to welcome their third child in April and of course, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will get married one month after. The news has been much welcomed in the other parts of the world with many people sending their congratulations to the couple, particularly here in the U.S. with Royal Wedding fever already high.