Prince Harry’s legion of admirers were dealt a blow yesterday when he was romantically linked with an American actress. The Prince, 32, is reported to be seeing Meghan Markle, a 35-year-old actress best known for her role in the US legal drama Suits. The pair are said to have met in Canada during his promotional tour for the Invictus Games, with one source claiming that the fifth-in-line to the throne is “besotted”.
The Sunday Express reported that the actress has already been introduced to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and “fitted in straight away”. Kensington Palace said they did not comment on private matters and Ms Markle’s representatives did not return a request for comment. A source told the newspaper that the pair were “taking it a step at a time”, adding: “He’s happier than he’s been for many years.”
Bookmakers yesterday said they were suspending betting on a wedding for Prince Harry, having previously offered odds of 12-1 that he would announce his engagement this year and 5-1 that he would marry in 2017. Sharp-eyed fans yesterday pointed out several photographs of Ms Markle wearing a blue beaded bracelet remarkably similar to one once worn by Prince Harry.
The Prince has previously spoken of the difficulties of meeting a partner, lamenting that any sign of him speaking to a woman leads to rumours that she is “suddenly my wife”. He has also admitted to having concerns over the privacy of any woman in his life, after former girlfriends struggled under the spotlight due to the behaviour of fans, photographers and the perceived invasion of their private life. In a candid interview earlier this year, Prince Harry said: “Even if I talk to a girl, that person is then suddenly my wife, and people go knocking on her door. If or when I do find a girlfriend, I will do my utmost... to ensure that me and her can get to the point where we’re actually comfortable with each other before the massive invasion that is inevitably going to happen into her privacy.”
He added: “To be fair, I haven’t had that many opportunities to get out there and meet people. At the moment, my focus is very much on work. But if someone slips into my life then that’s absolutely fantastic.”
Ms Markle has previously been married to Trevor Engelson, a film producer. They married in 2011 at a ceremony in Jamaica but split up after two years. She is a prolific user of social media, having founded the lifestyle website The Tig, which publishes stories on fashion, beauty, food, lifestyle and travel.
She is also a global ambassador for World Vision Canada and an advocate for United Nations Women, travelling around the world to undertake works for charity. Writing on her blog in August, in celebration of her birthday, Ms Markle said: “I have to say that when I close my eyes and think of what I wish for, I come up with a blank. A big old happy blank.
“I am feeling so incredibly joyful right now, so grateful and content that all I could wish for is more of the same.”
She was spotted enjoying the tennis at Wimbledon in the royal box on June 28 and July 4, and a photograph emerged of her visiting Buckingham Palace on July 5 while Prince Harry was in London.
Ms Markle has experienced attention over her private life before, when she publicly insisted in 2014 that she was not in a relationship with Rory McIlroy, the golfer. In an interview with GQ in 2013, she said the way for a man to impress her was through kindness, confidence, and finding the right line between funny and vulgar.
In particular, she said, she loves “how British guys dress for the cold” and a man who does not spend too long in the bathroom.
