Prince Harry to marry US actress Meghan Markle next year

Britain’s Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle announced on Monday they were engaged and would get married in the spring of next year.

Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, best known for her role in the US TV legal drama Suits, got engaged earlier this month in London.

Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty The Queen and other close members of his family. Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle’s parents, a statement issued by Prince Charles said.

The queen, who had to give her assent for the union, and her husband Prince Philip are delighted, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

Harry and Markle, who is a divorcee, met in July 2016 after they were introduced through friends.

The prince, the youngest son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana, publicly confirmed their relationship months later in a rebuke to the media over its alleged intrusion into Markle’s private life.

But it was not until September that they made their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games in Toronto, a sports event for wounded veterans.

We’re in love,” Markle told Vanity Fair magazine that month.

I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time.

The couple are due to appear together for the media later on Monday and a broadcast interview will also be aired.

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, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Twitter.

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, said they were "very excited for Harry and Meghan", adding: "It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together."