After a series of rumours and speculations, the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been announced on Monday, September 27. The Prince of Wales announced the engagement news of the couple.
According to a statement issued by Clarence House, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's official residence, the wedding will take place in Spring 2018. However, further details about the wedding will be announced later. Earlier this month, Prince Harry and the American actress secretly got engaged in London.
The statement added that Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the family have been informed by Prince Harry, fifth in line to the throne. He has also sought and received the blessings from Markle's family.
"We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person," Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland said in a statement.
"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 of happiness and are very excited for their future together."
After the couple's marriage, they will be living in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.
The engaged royal couple will appear for a photo outside Kensington Palace on Monday afternoon, and will also take part in a broadcast interview in the evening.
British Prime Minister Theresa May offered her congratulations to the couple. "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," she said on Twitter.
On this occasion, IBTimes Singapore brings you the chronology of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal love story that started in 2016.
October 2016: The first rumour about the relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan arose in October 2016.
November 2016: Prince Harry confirmed their relationship in public by releasing a statement which said that he is dating Meghan. Megan first met Harry's father Prince Charles.
Several reports suggested that Prince Williams, the elder brother of Harry did not like the way the couple publicized their relationship. In a statement, Williams said, "The Duke of Cambridge absolutely understands the situation concerning privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him."
While Meghan was shooting for "Suits", Harry came to meet the American actress to Toronto.
Though there was no official announcement of the relationship, Meghan told The Vancouver Sun that she is the luckiest girl in the world and people speculated that what she said had to be about Harry.
December 2016: The American actress was spotted wearing "M" and "H" charms, which was reportedly created by designer Maya Brenner. The couple enjoyed their Christmas Eve together in London and attended a play "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime."
Queen Elizabeth II was happy to know about their relationship.
January 2017: Meghan's family approved of their relationship."She's very much in love and she's obviously happy because if she wasn't happy, she wouldn't be there" said Meghan's father. Harry introduced Meghan to his sister-in-law Kate Middleton and her daughter Princess Charlotte.
Harry and Meghan went for a vacation at the Northern Lights.
February 2017: The couple was rumoured to have moved in together in a small apartment of the Kensington Palace. But later reports came from The Sun, which stated that moving in story was not true.
April 2017: Meghan announced that she was closing her lifestyle blog "The Tig" and people started assuming that it could be because she was planning to get married to the Prince soon. But People magazine reported that the assumptions were not right.
The American actress was found wearing an "H" written ring on her left index finger.
May 2017: After the annual Audi Polo Challenge in Ascot, England the couple were spotted kissing in a parking area.
The lovebirds were found in Pippa Middleton's wedding reception. Harry drove his car for three hours to pick his girlfriend for the ceremony. Although she could not attend the function, Harry took Meghan to a less formal reception.
June 2017: Daily Mail reported that Megan was spotted wearing a gold thumb ring, which was a gift from Harry.
July 2017: People magazine reported in July that Prince Harry had purchased a painting from British artist Van Donna for an "important person" back in October 2016. The name of the art piece was "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." He asked to make two parts of that painting if possible, as he wanted to take half of it and gift the rest to his beloved.
August 2017: The couple went to Meno, a Kwena camp in Botswana for a romantic holiday in late August.
Megan came to London to celebrate her birthday with her royal boyfriend on August 4.
September 2017: An insider from the Buckingham Palace confirmed that Harry has asked for Megan Markel's hand from her father Thomas. He also spoke to his grandmother Queen Elizabeth for the marriage approval.
Prince Harry and Megan Markle had made their first public appearance on September 25 at Invictus Games, Toronto. They were found together, holding hands and walking to the stadium for a wheelchair tennis match.
On September 23, Megan came for the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games. However, the couple sat apart on the first day of the event.
"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. Nothing about me changed. I'm still the same person that I am, and I've never defined myself by my relationship" Megan told "Vanity Fair" in an interview.
