The tweet we’ve all been waiting for finally arrived: Clarence House posted at 10 am GMT that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged to be married. According to the statement, the couple became engaged earlier in November in London and a wedding is planned for Spring 2018. As of right now, they are both living in Nottingham Cottage in KP.
The happy couple just finished up a photo call in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace (aka the White Garden that was opened earlier this year to commemorate the late Princess of Wales). Like the Duchess of Cambridge presenting Diana’s sapphire engagement ring back in 2010, this was a nice nod to Harry’s mother in the middle of all of the festivities.
For those unable to watch the live stream of the two appearing in the garden, it was a short affair. The couple walked down from the Palace to the garden and paused across the pond from the reporters, answering a handful of questions. (Yes, they are happy and “of course” the proposal was romantic). Asked when he knew she was “the one,” the Prince responded it was the first time he met her. Always a good answer.
Meghan showed off a diamond ring that is reportedly designed by Harry and made out of two diamonds from Diana’s personal collection and one from Botswana, where the couple holidayed in August.
Video from reporter Victoria Murphy:
Remarkably there were a few moments where it looked like Meghan, and not Harry, was taking the lead. She rubbed his forearm at one point reassuringly, waved to the reporters before him and appeared to direct him as they were walking back, not the other way around. In comparison to William and Kate, this was quite the change of pace, particularly since they’re on Harry’s turf!
From reporter Richard Palmer:
Meghan wore a white trench coat by Line the Label over a green dress by P.A.R.O.S.H – I’ve just realized she was perfectly coordinated with the garden. V. nice touch. Both are Canadian labels.
So far the couple has garnered congratulations from the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who said they were “thrilled,” as well as William and Kate, who noted (via tweet) that it has been “wonderful” getting to know Kate over the past year, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered up best wishes.
Meghan’s parents also released a statement that was put out by the Palace – a nice touch, in my opinion:
I’ll keep updating this post throughout the day as new information emerges, so feel free to keep checking back. In terms of wedding logistics, we don’t know much at this point, except that most people believe it will be a church wedding somewhere in London. Given Kate’s pregnancy, “spring” probably means May at the earliest given that they will probably wait until the new Cambridge baby is born. We should be given more specifics tomorrow by some reports.
As for regularly scheduled programming, Kate has two engagements on the books for tomorrow and Wednesday, so I think we can safely expect that she’ll be asked a slew of questions about Meghan and today’s news throughout both 🙂
UPDATE 1: Harry and Meghan’s engagement interview will air at 6 pm GMT on all networks. Honestly, how is anyone going to get any work done? (Asking for a friend.)
UPDATE 2: Just this photo, which is adorable and relaxed and indicative of how happy the two looked in the garden. Shared by @royalspotlight:
UPDATE 3: Per The Guardian:
“The band is made of gold and the ring was made by Cleave and Company.
“By designing his bride-to-be’s engagement ring using jewels that belonged to his mother, Harry is following in the footsteps of his grandfather.
“The Duke of Edinburgh designed an engagement ring for the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, in 1947. The Duke had the ring made by the jewellers Philip Antrobus Ltd, using diamonds from a tiara belonging to his mother, Princess Alice of Greece.”
By some reports, Meghan is due to join the Royal Family at Sandringham for Christmas this year. That’s going to be one hell of a walkabout if true. If memory serves, Kate spent the Christmas after her engagement with the Middletons in Berkshire, but given that Meghan just made an international move it would make complete sense for her to stay put in England and take a breath. I think we can safely assume that William and Kate will spend the holiday in Norfolk this year as well.