Cape Town - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged!
The couple - who made their first official public appearance together in September - got engaged earlier this month, the official Kensington Palace Twitter account shared on Monday.
According to the official announcement, Harry and Meghan are set to tie the knot in Spring 2018.
The couple have received the blessing from Queen Elizabeth as well as Meghan's parents.
SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENT HERE:
Of their daughter's engagement to the Prince, Meghan's parents said in a statement: "We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together."
READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE:
The royal engagement announcement comes after palace staff were summoned to the Queen’s London residence on Friday for a “big meeting”.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
Rumours of the couple's romance spread in October 2016, after the couple met through mutual friends in July that year.
Shortly thereafter the royal family confirmed their relationship with a strongly worded statement asking media to stop harassing the Suits actress.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Meghan revealed she and Harry had been "quietly dating for six months" before news broke out.
When questioned about her future with Harry, the 36-year-old steered clear from any engagement talk and simply said: "We’re a couple. We’re in love.
"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. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours."
PREPARING TO BECOME A ROYAL
While Harry may have only popped the question earlier this month, recent reports hint that Meghan has been preparing for this for quite sometime.
Following their first public appearance together as a couple at this year's Invictus Games, Meghan reportedly met Queen Elizabeth for the first time.
Daily Mail reported that the highly discreet meeting took place on Thursday, 12 October and was kept “deliberately informal” to ensure that it was not highly publicised as well as to eliminate any nerves Meghan might have had.
The palace declined to comment at the time.
The actress also reportedly quit her role as feisty paralegal Rachel Zane in the drama, Suits. Meghan told the show's bosses in October that she will not be returning for an eighth season.