Weekends at Soho Farmhouse, dinners with the in-laws, and a wedding to plan - Meghan moves to London

This article was originally published on November 25th, prior to the engagement announcement

The countdown began this time last year. In November 2016, in a break with tradition, Prince Harry released a statement confirming his relationship with American actress Meghan Markle, imploring the press to cease their hounding of her. “This is not a game,” he said, “it is her life."

It was an unusual move, but one that many felt was typical of a prince who has such a profound connection with the British public. He was appealing to “fair-minded people” who would understand that he merely wished to protect his beloved.

A slap on the wrist to the international press well and truly delivered, it was clear this was no fling. Could an engagement announcement be imminent?

Over the course of the last 12 months, and the countdown clock has been reset time and again. Last December, there was the sighting of the couple buying a Christmas tree in Battersea Park – was the prince planning a festive announcement? Then came the rumours of a private meeting with the Queen at Balmoral. Perfectly natural, royal commentators said, that he would want Granny’s blessing before taking a further step.

Then, this summer, there were the love-filled looks exchanged in the crowd at the Invictus Games in Toronto. And yet the summer came and went with no engagement.

But this week the rumour mills started up again in earnest. A flurry of articles filled the American gossip columns, as speculation mounted that the prince had proposed.

Reports told of removals vans at Markle’s Toronto apartment. “Movers were seen there yesterday and today,” said Us Weekly. “Meghan has officially moved out.”

Then came rumours that Markle had resigned from her day job and would no longer be appearing in Suits, the legal drama that made her name – a clear sign, sources said, that she was preparing to move to London to live with her beau and become truly ensconced in the royal circle.

A cryptic message posted on Instagram by her body double on the show further hinted at big changes in the actress’s life. “Wishing you all the happiness in the world Bella #youdeserveitall,” wrote Nicky Bursic under a photograph of herself with the star.

Meanwhile in the UK, on Thursday, bookmakers pulled all bets regarding the couple’s engagement amid rumours that the BBC had been primed for an announcement. William Hill received a request from a member of the public on Wednesday morning asking for odds on the couple already having married.

A secret elopement certainly would be an incredible break with royal tradition. More likely, say watchers, is that the prince proposed in August while the couple were on holiday in Africa and chose to keep the engagement quiet. His brother proposed while holidaying in Kenya, with Clarence House announcing the news a month later.

Profile | Meghan Markle

Some have speculated an announcement could be imminent if the prince wishes to bring his girlfriend to Christmas at Sandringham, although protocol and tradition dictate that only spouses are permitted to join the Royal Family for the festivities. Nonetheless, the latest odds at the time of going to press put the likelihood of Markle spending Christmas Day with the Queen at 8/11.

But with some commentators saying that the couple wouldn’t dream of setting a date until after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have welcomed their third child, due in April next year, the waiting game continues.

And so, if indeed we have a little while to go before Prince Harry becomes the second royal to become engaged to an American divorcee, what do the coming weeks look like for Meghan, as she becomes fully ensconced in the prince’s inner circle?

She will live, it is thought, at Nottingham Cottage on the Kensington Palace estate, where the prince has lived for some time now; the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge used to live there before they had children. A self-contained, cosy cottage, it has been the perfect base for the prince as it’s private, but still only a stone’s throw away from his brother and sister-in-law, who live in Apartment 1a, the 22-room former home of Princess Margaret.

It will make the ideal first home for the couple, says Prince Harry’s biographer, Penny Junor. “It has everything going for it. It’s in the centre of London so she can go off shopping and do whatever she wants. It’s secure there. That is his home.”

Many speculate that they won’t stay in London for long. Rumour has it they are looking to secure a house in the Cotswolds as they like visiting Soho Farmhouse. Matthew Bell, commissioning editor at Tatler, says the couple run in very different social circles to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

“Kate and William go to Anmer in Norfolk to escape, but Harry likes hanging out with fun people, more showbiz people. Meghan is that, a showbiz person. So they’re more likely to be in the slightly more fun, fast set, and not miles away from London.

“There’s talk of him possibly getting somewhere in the Cotswolds because they like Soho Farmhouse. I think that’s quite telling. It’s basically London out there – it’s not really the countryside at all.”

Their main base will continue to be Kensington Palace, where they will live in close quarters with the royal family when they’re in London. The royals are said to be very fond of Meghan already. “My understanding is that they’re very happy for him, I think everybody wants to see Harry happy and settled with someone that makes him happy,” says Junor, who thinks Meghan will be keen to use her position (if she does indeed become a member of the royal family) to do good. 

“They are both people who are very much committed to making the world a better place. I think they’ll be quite an extraordinary double act, because she clearly has an agenda herself.

“She cares about a lot of important things, as he does. She’s not just a pretty face. And if she is giving up her career in order to be a member of the British royal family, then I think she’ll be doing it very much with a view to using that position to make a difference in the world.”

If Meghan is to make her life on this side of the pond in full glare of the royal spotlight, she will need a tight circle of trusted friends around her. Luckily, she is said to be very much “in” with the prince’s crowd already. The couple first met through a mutual friend – Markus Anderson, the Toronto-based consultant for private members club Soho House, who is reported to have facilitated the early stages of their relationship, with much of their time together spent at Soho Houses around the world.

Meghan counts Misha Nonoo, who used to be married to Alexander Gilkes, Old Etonian and friend of the princes, among her closest friends. And when she attended the wedding of Harry’s close pal Tom “Skippy” Inskip to Lara Hughes-Young this summer, reports revealed that Lara had been singing Meghan’s praises for months.

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“Harry still has the same friends he’s always had,” says Bell. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he adapts more to her social life, as opposed to the other way round.

“He has definitely calmed down,” he adds. “They’re both grown-up but still quite fun. A bit more interesting than William and Kate.”

And what will happen when the announcement finally comes? Are we in for a repeat of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wonderfully lavish wedding? Not likely, says Junor. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he went somewhere much more low-key. That kind of full-blown ceremonial affair would sit uncomfortably with him.

“He does a lot of work with disadvantaged people. To then go and play the royal prince who has the most slap-up wedding costing hundreds of thousands of pounds wouldn’t sit comfortably.”

If you believe those sources that say they won’t announce anything until after William and Kate’s baby is born, then the couple have a few months yet to make a new life together in London – before they plan the most low-key showbiz wedding of the century.