Britain’s Prince Harry is engaged to American actress Meghan Markle, Kensington Palace announced in a statement Monday. Friends introduced the couple in July 2016, but kept their relationship a secret for several months. After months of anticipation, they are now officially engaged.

An official statement

A statement released by the Clarence House on the morning of Nov. 27 said that Prince Harry had informed the Queen and other close family members, and that the wedding would take place in June 2018. The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, according to the statement.

Harry's grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip,as well as Markle’s parents expressed their happiness for the pair and wished them the best.

The Prince and Markle made their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games last September, where they held hands at a wheelchair tennis event and spent time with Markle’s mother, Doria. On May 6, 2017, Meghan made her first public appearance as the royal girlfriend when she proudly watched Prince Harry playing polo in Berkshire and both Harry and Megan attended the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews in May.

Who is Meghan Markle?

The 36-year-old star was born and raised in California. Her father Thomas Markel is an Emmy-winning lighting director who worked on ‘’Married With Children.’’ Doria Radlan, Markel’s mother is a yoga instructor and social worker.

Doria divorced Meghan's father Thomas when Megan was six, according to the Daily Mail. Doria is African-American, while Meghan's father is Dutch-Irish, so the family received racial abuse when Meghan was younger. Because her mother is black with dreadlocks, Meghan was often asked whether her mother was, in fact, her biological mum.

Meghan Markle is famous for her role of paralegal Rachel Zane on the popular legal-drama series ‘’Suits.’’ The show is now in its seventh season on the USA cable network and it’s not clear yet how Megan’s engagement will affect the show. As her character is about to marry Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) in the show, there are rumors the two of them will leave the show.

Why is this relationship special?

Prince Harry, dubbed ‘’The people’s prince’’, is loved by the people for being who he is. He acts natural and often defies the Queen's demands if they don't suit him. He likes to party and is involved in charities around the world.

Meghan Markle is divorced; she began dating Trevor Engelson, who has a production company, in 2004 and the pair married on September 10, 2011. However, they went their separate ways in 2013. Meghan is involved in charity as well. She is the Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada and has been to Rwanda to promote the organization’s Clean Water Campaign. In 2014 she was involved in a UN campaign for gender equality.

This relationship and engagement are special on so many levels and bring a lot of new things to the British Royal Family.

Meghan is a girl of color, she is three years older than Prince Harry, she is an actress and she is divorced. People seem to approve of Prince Harry’s way of living and the fact that he wants to be happy, no matter what others say. People are in for another royal wedding and we will see how this marriage is going to work.
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