Modern-Day Princess

As Prince Harry and TV star Meghan Markle tie the knot in the wedding of the year, we look at how the charismatic and stylish actress is rewriting the royal rulebook and breathing new life into the monarchy.

On a snowy Monday morning in London last November, the heartwarming news that royal watchers had long been waiting for finally arrived. “His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle.”

After a 16-month, long-distance courtship that started with a blind date set up by a mutual friend (believed to be fashion PR Violet von Westenholz), the US actress was confirmed as the next royal bride. The two were reportedly smitten after that one date, arranging to see each other the next day. A few weeks later, they carved out five days for a romantic trip to Botswana, where they camped out under the stars.

The couple then flew back and forth between London and Toronto, where Meghan filmed the legal drama Suits. In London, Harry said they spent “cosy nights in front of the television, cooking dinner” at Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace, where they will live and where Meghan revealed the prince got down on one knee to propose.

“The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned and everything was just perfect,” Prince Harry confessed. “At the end of the day, she chooses me and I choose her… whatever we have to tackle, it will always be us together as a team. We’re a fantastic team, we know we are.”

Harry jokes how Meghan has even charmed the monarch’s famous dogs: “I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at; this one walks in, absolutely nothing. Just wagging tails.” Harry is even convinced that Meghan and his late mother Diana would have been “best mates, thick as thieves”.

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