Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ‘put off’ announcing their private engagement to the world after encountering a hitch in their love story
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had to hold off announcing their engagement publicly for weeks after the Suits actress took a major step in their relationship.
The royal couple, who first got together on a blind date in 2016, revealed to the world their engagement in November 2017 – but Harry had secretly popped the question to Meghan several weeks earlier.
Speculation was rife that the pair were about to announce their news, but before they could, they had to sort out their living arrangements.
Meghan had already taken a leap of faith by quitting her TV show Suits and following Harry to London, where they set up home in Nottingham Cottage, in the grounds of Kensington Palace. She had even moved her rescue beagle Guy to the UK in the hope that she and Harry would go the distance.
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It was in the North Garden of their cottage that Harry proposed, after Meghan cooked her famous ‘marry me roast chicken’. Her suspicions were raised when he opened a magnum of Champagne – despite not being a fan of it.
“I did pop a bottle of Champagne while she was greasing the chicken and that kind of slightly gave the game away,” Harry later revealed in the couple’s Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. “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 led Meghan outside to the garden, where he’d prepared 15 electric candles romantically dotted around a picnic rug. Getting down on one knee, he asked her to marry her – and Meghan didn’t even let him finish the 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 laughed when the pair retold their engagement story to the BBC on the day of their official announcement.
Meghan wasn’t the first to know Harry’s intentions, however: first he had to get permission from his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, who gave him her blessing and allowed the couple to get married in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
The rumour mill was in full swing in November of that year as word got out that the BBC had been “primed for a royal announcement”.
But as the Palace stalled making the announcement, the couple were said to be delaying the news while they set up home together.
It was reported that the actress had started unpacking her bags at Harry’s royal residence after flying in to London earlier in the month.
But there was speculation the couple had their eye on buying a country retreat in the Cotswolds, to give them the privacy they wanted away from their official royal residence.
“They are trying to sort a few things out first,” a source told the Daily Star at the time. “They are house hunting for a retreat and other things, but it will be up to them to decide.”
The source added: “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.”
Shortly before the engagement was announced, palace staff were called to a mysterious “big meeting” and told of the happy news.
According to the Daily Star, staff from Buckingham and Kensington Palaces were told in front of the Queen that Harry and Meghan are engaged and that they would be having a “non-traditional wedding”.
And on November 27, 2017, the pair went public with their news, with Meghan showing off the three-stone diamond ring that Harry had proposed with using gems from his late mum, Princess Diana’s jewellery collection.
We look at the signs the pair were already engaged by the time they let the world know about the next chapter of their love story…
Meghan quit Suits
Meghan played lawyer Rachel Zane for six years, joining the cast in 2011 and starring in the show for seven series.
But in October 2017 there were reports that she had quit the show in order to focus on being a royal consort.
Given that Suits was her main source of income, many were left wondering what she would do for money.
“Meghan knows she can’t really act at the same time as being a princess and is happy to make this career sacrifice,” a source told the Daily Star at the time.
“She really enjoys her charity work with Unicef and will broaden out her charity commitments when she becomes a full-time royal.”
Her body double’s cryptic comment
Nicky Bursic, who worked on Suits as Meghan’s body double, shared a sweet message in mid-November when it was confirmed Meghan was leaving the show after filming wrapped.
Posting a snap of the two of them cuddled up together on Instagram, Nicky commented: “It’s been an absolute pleasure and honour being your ‘stand-in’ for the last 2 seasons.
“Though I’ve been on @suits_usa for 6 years, the latter 2 has been my most memorable. Wishing you all the happiness in the world Bella.”
Nicky then added the hashtag ‘#youdeserveitall’, which many took to hint at Meghan’s royal future.
Meghan moving in
It was reported that the actress started unpacking her bags in Nottingham Cottage, having flown into London earlier in the month.
The apartment was the first marital home of Prince William and Kate Middleton when they married in 2011, until they moved out of the capital to Norfolk when Prince George arrived.
It was described as private, cosy and self-contained – the perfect spot for newlyweds.
Harry’s diary was freed up
When he was still a working royal, Harry’s diary was open to the public and showed no official events lined up between mid-November 2017 and the end of the year.
Meghan was also spotted leaving a swimwear boutique in west London that same month, sparking speculation she was stocking up on bits for a sun-drenched break with her new fiance.
Meghan’s dogs relocated to London
Aside from Harry, Meghan had two very hairy love interests: Guy and Bogart. Guy sadly died in February 2025.
The two pooches lived with her in Toronto while she filmed Suits.
When she flew to London to live with Harry, she made arrangements to leave them in the care of her mum Doria Ragland in LA until she was able to complete the documentation to bring them over to London.
Bookies suspended bets on the next royal wedding
Ladbrokes revealed they’d stopped taking bets on the year of Harry and Meghan’s wedding – widely thought to be 2018.
Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes told Mirror Online: “All bets are off and it looks like it’s time for Her Majesty to go hat shopping.
“The playboy prince has finally settled down and found the one, and royal watchers will be thrilled at their engagement announcement,” she added.
Meghan had already met the Queen
Audiences with Her Majesty were rare and private events – and she doesn’t take tea with just anyone.
Engagement-watchers were in full twitch mode in October 2017 when Meghan and Harry turned up to Buckingham Palace to share tea and cake with the late monarch.
While their meeting was reportedly informal and kept on the down-low, it’s important for any members of the royal family to have the Queen’s blessing for their future spouse.
The timing was very similar to William and Kate’s engagement
Prince William and Kate Middleton – now the Prince and Princess of Wales – told the world they were engaged on Tuesday 16 November 2010, after he popped the question to her on holiday.
He proposed with mum Princess Diana’s priceless engagement ring – the sapphire and diamond one given to her by her ex-husband Prince Charles.
Kate and Wills tied the knot in the stunning Westminster Abbey in London on Friday April 29, 2011.
And Harry and Meghan followed, ahem, Suits when they wed on May 19, 2018, watched on by 600 guests – and two billion people watching on TV around the world.
