Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially announced their engagement! That’s right guys – this is just amazing! The happy news was confirmed in a statement by Clarence House, Prince Charles’ official residence at 10 a.m this morning.
The statement read:
Meghan’s parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland also released a statement describing how “incredibly happy” there were for the twosome. “We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents,” Thomas and Doria said in the joint statement, issued through Clarence House. “We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.”
At 2 pm, just hours after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed their engagement in a statement, the couple appeared at a photocall in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace – a place that was very sentimental for Princess Diana, who would often visit the garden seeking moments of contemplation.
The Sunken Garden was re-planted entirely in 2017 with white flowers for visitors to reflect and celebrate the life of Princess Diana. Diana loved the garden deeply and would often spend a lot of time walking around there.
“She would come by the Sunken Garden, and she would admire the floral displays in here as they changed through spring and summer, and she would chat with the staff,” Kensington Palace’s head gardener Sean Harkin once said in a video for the Huffington Post.
20 years later, Harry was introducing his future wife to the world, in the same garden. I loved it!
During the photocall, Harry told reporters he knew Meghan was “the one” from “the very first time we met.” Harry also described how “thrilled” he was by the engagement.
And of course, we also got to see Meghan’s new engagement ring. Harry designed the diamond ring himself, while it was crafted by the Queen’s jewelers Cleave and Company. The center stone is from Botswana – a place close to Prince Harry’s heart (and also where the couple first vacationed together) and the two outside diamonds are from Diana’s personal collection. The band is made of white gold.
Brides.com reported:
Harry designed the three-stone stunner for his fiancée himself (swoon), which features a three-carat cushion cut center diamond from Botswana, a place that holds special meaning to the couple. While Princess Diana’s engagement ring became off the market when Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton, Harry still followed in his older brother’s sentimental footsteps by choosing jewels that once belonged to his late mother. The center stone is surrounded by two round diamonds (estimated at just under a carat each) from her personal jewelry collection, paying tribute to the fact that her presence will follow them on this lifelong journey.
The design is set on a gold band, Meghan’s favorite, made by royal jeweler Cleave and Company. Markle’s engagement ring may be quite the contrast from Kate Middleton’s 12-carat oval ring, but we think it definitely suits her more understated jewelry style.
While color and clarity of the diamond influence the price and value, gemologist Grant Mobley guesses that Harry would pick a stone that is close to flawless. If that is the case, he estimates the center diamond could cost about $95,000-$155,000 (£70,000 – £115,000). As for the side diamonds, Mobley surmises that these have an intrinsic value of about $5,000 (£3,750) each, but they most likely have an even greater inherent value because they belonged to Princess Diana. “Anything belonging to the ‘People’s Princess’ is always going to be worth more,” says Mobley.
Right after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s engagement news broke out, congratulations started pouring in from all over the world.
Harry’s brother Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge issued this statement: “We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.”
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who celebrated their platinum anniversary last week, “are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness.”
Prince Charles also expressed his happiness!
The Church of England Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, also welcomed the engagement news stating:
WellChild, the charity of which Prince Harry is the patron, also sent their best wishes to the couple through Twitter.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada also congratulated the couple saying, “Congratulations and best wishes to you both!”
His wife, Sophie, stepped in as well: “Congratulations on the engagement, Meghan and Harry! May your deep bond and love keep you strong, united and thriving always.”
Theresa May wished the couple “great happiness for the future”. The Prime Minister led the list of politicians who sent their well-wishes following the news.
And Patrick J. Adams couldn’t help but crack a joke as he heard the news!
A beautiful photo of Harry and Meghan walking inside
A video from the photocall
Last but not least, after today’s announcement from the palace, the couple sat down for an interview with BBC’s Mishal Husain at 6.pm, and shared all kinds of details about how they met and what their relationship together has been like. We now know what they were eating when the proposal happened (roast chicken!), whether Harry has watched Suits (he hasn’t!), and what their first dates were like (not like any we have ever heard of!).
Let me just say that we learned …a lot. Because, to put it simply, they have been very!!!! secretive about their relationship over the last six months, leaving us wondering about their every move (kidding but not).
You can watch the full interview below:
Click here to read the full script of the interview
After the microphones were turned off, Meghan and Harry had a fun moment. Watch below
For the engagement announcement Meghan Markle wore:
Starting off with the customary official photo call, Meghan stepped out in an ivory-colored coat from Line the Label, covering her official engagement dress, which was revealed later for the BBC interview.
The belted trench-style coat, which caused the Canadian label’s website to crash immediately, promptly sold out — with British media already coining the term “Meghan Markle Effect.”
Once they left Sunken Garden for the photo call, Meghan removed the coat to reveal an emerald, green dress from Italian label P.A.R.O.S.H. Complete with bow detailing at the cinched waist, the wool dress proved to be the perfect princess-to-be first appearance dress
The outfit was finished off by her Aquazzura Matilde Crisscross Suede pumps.
She accessorized it with the Les Plaisirs de Birks Yellow Gold and Opal earrings.
The news today made me so happy!! Thank u so much for joining me in the coverage of the day, I can’t wait to cover Harry and Meghan’s journey on my blog! Stay tuned!
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