London,
Britain’s Prince Harry is engaged to his US actress girlfriend Meghan Markle with the marriage due to take place in the spring of 2018, his father Prince Charles announced on Monday.

Harry, 33, currently fifth in line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, best known for her role in the US TV legal drama “Suits”, became engaged earlier this month.

The couple met in July 2016 after they were introduced through friends. Prince Harry publicly confirmed their relationship months later in a rebuke to the media, which had been intruding into Markle’s private life, but it was not until September that they made their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games in Toronto, a sports event for wounded veterans. The youngest son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana, Harry was once the wild child of the royal family who admitted smoking cannabis and getting drunk when under the legal age limit. But since enjoying a successful military career which saw him on active service twice in Afghanistan, he has secured a place as one of Britain’s most popular royals.

Markle, a divorcee, has appeared in a number of TV shows and films, such as “Horrible Bosses”. She too has had prominent roles as a humanitarian campaigner, such as working as ambassador for World Vision children’s charity. The wedding is likely to attract huge attention across the globe.