Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle weeks before the couple revealed their engagement to the world, and the Duchess of Sussex had already made a huge leap of faith.
Harry and Meghan secretly got engaged weeks before telling the world(Image: Getty Images)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were compelled to delay their engagement announcement for several weeks after the Suits star made a significant move in their relationship. The Royal duo, who initially met during a blind date back in 2016, waited until November 2017 to announce their plans to marry.
However Harry had already asked Meghan the big question weeks before. Amidst growing speculation about their impending announcement, the couple first needed to address their living situation.
Prior to the reveal, Meghan took the bold step of leaving her role on Suits and relocating across the pond to London with Harry, setting up residence at Nottingham Cottage within Kensington Palace’s grounds.
She even brought over her rescue beagle Guy, optimistic about her future with Harry. The proposal happened in the north garden of their cottage, after Meghan prepared her now-famous ‘marry me roast chicken’ reports the Mirror.
Harry sparked curiosity when he unexpectedly opened a bottle of Champagne— a drink he isn’t fond of. “I did pop a bottle of Champagne while she was greasing the chicken and that kind of slightly gave the game away,” Harry disclosed in the duo’s Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan.
Prince Harry popped the question to Meghan back in 2017(Image: Netflix)
“She was like, ‘You don’t drink champagne. What’s the occasion?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know. Just had it laying around here, whatever.'”.
Harry then escorted Meghan to the garden, where he had romantically arranged 15 electric candles around a picnic blanket. He got down on one knee and proposed – but Meghan didn’t even let him finish his question.
“She didn’t even let me finish, she said, ‘can I say yes, can I say yes’, and then were was hugs and I had the ring in my finger and I was like, ‘can I give you the ring?’ She goes, ‘oh yes, the ring!'” Harry chuckled as they recounted their engagement tale to the BBC on the day of their official announcement.
However, Meghan wasn’t the first to be privy to Harry’s plans: he first sought approval from his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, who gave her blessing and permitted the couple to wed at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
In November of that year, rumours were rife as it emerged that the BBC had been “primed for a royal announcement”. Yet, as the Palace hesitated to make the announcement, it was suggested that the couple were postponing the news while they established their shared home.
Reports indicated that the actress began settling into Harry’s royal abode after arriving in London earlier that month.
However, there were whispers that the pair were considering purchasing a country hideaway in the Cotswolds, providing them with the seclusion they desired away from their official Royal residence.
“They are trying to sort a few things out first,” an insider disclosed to the Daily Star. “They are house hunting for a retreat and other things, but it will be up to them to decide.”
The source continued: “Meghan is now staying at Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace. She and Harry are a very private couple, and Her Majesty has said he (Harry) hasn’t got the same responsibility as William, which I know Harry is very happy with.”
In the lead-up to their engagement announcement, palace staff were summoned to an enigmatic “big meeting” where they were informed of the joyous news.
Harry and Meghan always held visions for a non-traditional royal wedding(Image: Getty)
The Daily Star reported that employees from Buckingham and Kensington Palaces were briefed in the presence of the Queen about Harry and Meghan’s engagement and their plans for a “non-traditional wedding”.
Then, on November 27, 2017, the couple made their engagement public, with Meghan proudly displaying the three-stone diamond ring Harry proposed with, featuring gems from his late mother, Princess Diana’s jewellery collection.
The residence was initially the first marital home for Prince William and Kate Middleton post their 2011 wedding, until they relocated out of London to Norfolk following the birth of Prince George.
Described as private, cosy, and self-contained, it was deemed an ideal location for newlyweds.
Prince William and Kate Middleton – now known as the Prince and Princess of Wales – announced their engagement to the world on Tuesday 16 November 2010, following his proposal during a holiday.
He proposed using the invaluable engagement ring of his mother, Princess Diana – the sapphire and diamond piece given to her by her former husband, the then Prince Charles.
Kate and Wills exchanged vows in the magnificent Westminster Abbey in London on Friday April 29, 2011.
Harry and Meghan followed suit, tying the knot on May 19, 2018, in front of 600 guests – and an estimated two billion people tuning in from around the globe.
Join the Daily Record’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.