Is Prince Harry ready for marriage now he’s taken girlfriend Meghan Markle to his best mate’s wedding?
PRINCE Harry has taken his A-list girlfriend Meghan Markle to his best mate’s wedding. As we take you inside their island love nest, we look at if he’s ready for marriage.
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IT’S serious.
Prince Harry has taken his Hollywood A-list girlfriend Meghan Markle to his best mate’s wedding in Jamaica this weekend — and the UK tabloids are rife with speculation over whether the royal spare is ready for the next step of marriage.
The couple are currently on a romantic Caribbean holiday where they are celebrating the wedding of Harry’s best friend, Tom Inskip, to his bride, Lara Hughes-Young.
Inskip is one of Harry’s last friends to get married. He and Harry, 32, went to Eton College together and have known each other for years.
Known as ‘Skippy’, he has been at Harry’s side as his wingman, even when the Prince was snapped naked while partying in Las Vegas.
While Markle married her former husband — producer Trevor Engleson — in Jamica 2011, there appears to be nothing holding her back as she and Harry enjoy time away in their exotic love nest away from home.
UK media outlets report that a passenger said Harry sat in a premium economy seat on his Virgin Atlantic flight to Jamaica, and an elderly woman was moved to make way for his security detail. Markle, 35, flew in by private jet from her Toronto home.
The three-day marital event is a big step for Harry and Markle, allowing her to meet Harry’s inner circle of friends for the first time.
The wedding took place at the luxurious Round Hill Hotel & Villas in Montego Bay, where the royal was an usher, The Sun reports.
A photograph the hotel posted to Instagram just three days ago shows how the secluded resort sets up for an outdoor wedding on its grounds.
The hotel has 36 oceanfront guest rooms and 27 villas with their own private pools designed by Ralph Lauren.
Photos of the hotel show the rooms are decked out with feature plantation-shuttered windows or balconies, white linen-adorned four-poster beds, quaint sitting areas and spacious bathrooms boasting walk-in showers, soaking tubs and dual vanities.
The hotel’s website also promises “true island style and subdued sophistication”.
“Here, guests become family, paradise is found, and experiences become lasting memories,” it also states.
The Sun also reports Harry is believed to be staying in the priciest accommodation — a six-bed villa with its own pool where guests pay £14,000 ($A22,667) for a three-night minimum stay.
Markle is expected to meet Harry’s friends who include Arthur Landon, stockbroker Adam Bidwell. Eton friend Jake Warren and bar owner Guy Pelly.
Landon is the son of the infamous ‘White Sultan’ Brigadier Tim Landon, who is said to have made his fortune after orchestrating a coup in Oman, the Telegraph UK reports. Warren is the son of the Queen’s racing manager, Jake Warren. Pelly is a long-time friend of Harry from London. Bidwell and Landon were both with Harry when he was in Las Vegas partying at the Wynn Hotel back in 2012.
According to The Express UK, a friend said the wedding was an important step for them as a couple.
“This the first time that she and Harry have socialised so openly as a couple and is a significant step up in their relationship,” the friend said.
“Make no mistake, he is heads over heels about her. This one could go all the way.”
One observer told The Sun: “Harry was all over her — he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
“She had on a long white shirt to keep the sun off, but soon stripped off to just a Panama hat and bikini.
“Harry wrapped her in his arms and kept kissing her. “
Harry and Markle have been jetsetting around the world inbetween his royal engagements and her schedule of shoots for her TV series, Suits.
Markle has also visited Harry in London and he has spent time with her in Toronto. In January, they made headlines when they went to Norway, where they spent the night under the Aurora Borealis.
“Harry is truly in love,” a source told E! News in January. “They’re very serious.”
According to Us Weekly, Harry may also be thinking about popping the question.
“They will be engaged by the end of summer,” a source told the US entertainment magazine, adding that the pair “have spoken candidly about their future. They see a life together.”
It’s synonymous with sources who have told The Sun that they have a potential future.
“It’s natural Harry would want Meg on his arm. It’s only a matter of time before they’re next.
“They’ve discussed it and she’s ready to leave acting for him,” a source told The Sun.
“This latest series of Suits will be her last and she wants to do more charity work. That’s why Harry loves her so much. She’s smart, sassy and wants to use her position for good.”
UK sites are already speculating on her title if she gets married to Harry.
The Express reports that if she married Harry, she would take the feminine version of his title and be known as HRH Princess Henry of Wales. If Harry becomes a Duke she would become a Duchess.
Royal historian Marlene Koenig said she believes that Prince Harry will likely be created the Duke of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth II.
“Meghan would be HRH the Duchess of Sussex,” Joenig told Royal Contral.
But if Prince Harry ever asks for her hand in marriage, could they actually get married?
They answer has an interesting history.
Back in 1955 Princess Margaret was reportedly forced to sacrifice her relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend, because he had an ex-wife.
That relationship is explored in Netflix’s popular series The Crown.
But the BBC reports that papers from the National Archives since 2004 show the Queen and Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden drew up a plan in 1955 under which Princess Margaret could marry Townsend while keeping her royal title and her civil list allowance of £6,000 a year plus another £9,000 on marriage. She could live in the UK and even continue with public duties.
But she would have to renounce her rights of succession and those of her children.
Princess Margaret’s uncle King Edward VIII abdicated after just 326 days on the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
His decision led to a constitutional crisis due to the Church of England’s teaching that remarriage is not allowed if the former spouse is still alive.
In 2005, Queen Elizabeth II gave permission for Prince Charles to marry his fellow divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now the Duchess of Cornwall, after his first wife, Lady Diana Spencer died 20 years ago.
Under the Perth Agreement’s rules, Prince Harry would still need the Queen’s approval before his future wedding.
The Perth agreement of 2011 states that the first six in line to the throne need sovereign approval to marry.
Harry is currently fifth-in-line, but could be pushed down should Prince William and Kate have more children.
Contrary to Harry’s other girlfriends, he does appear to be more committed to Markle than his previous girlfriends.
According to E! News, a source said: “Harry is more serious [about Meghan] then he ever has been about a woman before.”
Contrary to his previous relationships, he came out and issued a statement through Kensington Palace to publicly defend her against ongoing harassment.
Just last Christmas they were also spotted out picking a Christmas tree, something royal watchers haven’t seen before.
According to E! News the source also said: “It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s already thinking about engagement just because that’s where his head goes but that’s not where the relationship is at right now.”
“This is totally Harry. The problem with Harry is when he falls, he falls hard. He goes in big time.”
Contrary to his past girlfriends like Chelsea Davy and Cressida Bonas, Forbes reports that Markle appears to handle being in the public eye better than them, making her a more suitable match.
“Her poise, self-reliance, insouciance and experience dealing with celebrity and popularity, photographers, fans, invasive tabloids — unlike Harry’s former girlfriends,” it wrote.
“Her personal and professional successes as an actress, businesswoman and figure of glamor, as well as her involvement in charity causes in the poorest countries - a characteristic she shares with her prince-boyfriend - add to her allure.”
Markle uses social media, and speaks her mind. She has no fear and knows when to keep such events like her trips to see Harry at the palace private — and of course their latest romantic getaway is just between the two of them. She has not posted any photos yet, indicating she doesn’t want to spoil what they have.
If she were to marry Harry, her acting career and social media may need to be left behind.
It seems she is happy keeping a low profile as Harry’s girlfriend.
She also visited India’s poorest slums as an ambassador for World Vision Canada, something that echos what Harry’s mother Diana would have done if she were still alive today.
“She is prepping to take her place in the royal family, doing what most princesses do— social work” the India Times concluded.
“The actress was in Mumbai for a project on women’s health and it wasn’t just a customary visit but one where she actively participated…Markle worked in the slums of Delhi and Mumbai for a week, learning challenges the women who live there face.”
For now, Harry and Markle are also expected to make their first public appearance together at Pippa Middleton’s wedding on May 20.
Will we hear wedding bells? And will the Queen approve of Markle? We’ll have to wait and see.
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